


ALIEN HEART--PART TWO

by CeeCee33



Category: Clans of Kalquor - Tracy St. John
Genre: Foursome - F/M/M/M, Light BDSM, Multi, Other, Threesome - F/M/M, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-01-21 17:06:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 61,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1557791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeeCee33/pseuds/CeeCee33
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>NOTE: NEWLY UNLOCKED.<br/>Earth-born Bethany Corddray is loving her new home, the planet Plasius, a world where love and sex are revered and abundant. Her home world has been all but destroyed in the war with the Kalquorian Empire and its repressive regimes broken in the ensuing chaos of the nuclear bombs Earth's leaders unleashed on their own people. Bethany's glad to be away from all of that, but there are still rumblings of violence by the maddened Earthers, even on peaceful Plasius.<br/>Amid all this, Bethany has met and fallen in love with a Kalquorian clan--three men who are pledged to each other as family. They have proven they care for her, have protected her from danger, welcomed her into their home, but they have yet to say they love her or ask her to be the female--a Matara--who will complete their clan. Fearing the pain of loss when they leave, Bethany fled to another part of Plasius, only to wake one terrible day to find she's been kidnapped by bounty-hunters and is on her way to Earth, far from the men she loves. Will they come for her? Do they know she's been taken? Or will she lose everything, her freedom, her loves, her life, to the ruthless men intent on selling her and others into slavery?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One, Two, and Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long posting--messed up and lost the first two chapters so I piggy-backed them onto front of Chapter Three.

ALIEN RESCUE, Part II  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter One 

 

“God, no.”  
“I know. And I’m sorry— What was your name?”  
“Bethany.” Her voice rasped.  
“I’m sorry, Bethany. I had no idea my so-called investors were Earthers. The bastards used my shop to locate Earther women in the capital.” The shop owner’s blue eyes were dark with anger and regret.   
“We have to get out of here!” Damn, but her throat hurt! Her hands went to her neck. Had someone tried to strangle her?  
“They used choker collars while they moved us onto the ship. It goes away after a while if they don’t use it again too soon.”  
Bethany squinted. The woman’s neck held three separate rings of bruises. Another fighter? “We have to get out of here.”  
“Nowhere to go.”   
Bethany felt engines running beneath the floor. “We’re off Plasius.”  
“Yes. Even if we could fight them, I doubt any of us knows how to pilot a ship like this. And as far as signaling for help, Earth coms are all we’d reach. I’m Lydia, by the way.”  
“Lydia. I’m Bethany.” She eased up to a sitting position. Her head ached like a hundred mallets were beating on her skull but she managed to hold on and not tip over. “Who took us? Are they Earth Gov?”  
“Bounty hunters, I think. Rogue military who are kidnapping ex-patriate Earther women.”  
“Who pays the bounty?”  
She shrugged. “Might be Gov. Might be wealthy men who survived the blasts. Might just be labor camp zookeepers hell bent on recovering their inmates. Husbands looking to drag back runaway wives. All of the above.”  
It didn’t get any worse than this. “You said any of us. Are there more Earthers on this ship?”  
Lydia nodded toward the door. “As near as I can tell, they have us in holes like this all up and down the corridor. I’m not sure how many but I can’t imagine they’d make the trip for just two of us.” She shifted and sighed. “They keep us apart so there’s no chance we can ambush them.”  
“Do they ever let us out?”  
“No. At least, they haven’t so far.”  
“How long have I been unconscious?” She was scared but she had to know.   
“You’ve drifted in and out. Mostly out. Three days, maybe four? I’ve lost track and they took my chrono and my com.”  
Bethany patted her pockets. “Mine, too.”   
She surveyed the room. Her mind wanted her to scream and panic and batter on the walls. If Earthers had taken them, they were as good as dead. Worse than dead. Oh, God, she was never going to see her sweet men again. Tears stung her eyes. Never to be held or loved or bossed around? Never to be teased or possessed? Never to see their handsome faces or feel their reassuring presence? She gulped. Did they know she was missing? What would they think when she never returned from Minishan?  
They would hunt for her. She knew that as surely as she knew her own name. They’d go to Minishan, somehow find out she’d been taken. None of them—her darling Zan, especially—would rest until they found her. They would come. In the meantime, she had to do what she could to resist these gurlucks. She had to fight.   
“What’s in the crates?”   
Lydia waved a hand. “Don’t know. I couldn’t find a way to open them.”  
Bethany crawled around the boxes. They were sealed up tight and bound with strapping lines. She searched for a tool. No joy there. She rejoined Lydia by the wall. She needed to keep talking, to make sure she was real. To keep her fears from sweeping her up and drowning her.  
“Do you have anyone left on Earth that you could contact? I have no one.”  
Lydia shook her soft blonde curls. “Me, neither. Everyone I had died when they took out San Francisco and Antwerp. I’d long since managed to get passage to Plasius, and I wasn’t planning to return. Armageddon happened the year after I left.”  
“I’m sorry you lost people, though.”  
“Yes. It wasn’t a good time. But I’ve never wanted to go back to Earth. You?”  
Bethany shook her head. “Never. Especially not this way.”  
“Tell me about it. Say, how did it work out for you and your Kalquorians? Did you like the clothes they sent you?”  
Bethany ached at the memory of shopping with Zan and Frell, of them conning her into modeling for them, the wretches. “I loved the clothing. I...love them.”  
“Did you join their clan?”  
Oh, God, just stab me. “No. They never asked. But they’re awfully smart. And protective. When they find out I’m missing, they’ll tear apart the galaxy to find me.”  
Lydia looked sad. “Must be nice. I never found anybody. Oh, there were one or two guys, but they were military. They ended up shipping back to Earth after Armageddon. I might have met a nice Plasian, but the chance never came up.”  
“Crazy, isn’t it? That they’d even want to go back? I was always surprised Israla wasn’t swamped every day by Earthers begging for asylum.” Bethany shook her head, then stopped herself, wincing. “This is pretty strange, isn’t it? Us chatting here like this?”  
Lydia shrugged. “What’re we going to do? It’s a long time to the next meal, which is the next time they check on us.”  
“How many of them are there?”  
“Not sure.” Lydia shifted so she could face Bethany. “I counted at least five when they took me and Denise.”  
“Denise?”  
“My shop assistant. Poor thing. She’s younger than you, I think.”  
“Were you taken together?”  
She nodded. “I felt so awful. I’d asked her to stay late. She was just leaving the shop when these guys jumped her. She broke away and tried to get back into Bliss. When I went to the door, they took me, too.” Her voice crackled with pain. “I set us all up.”  
“Oh, no! Don’t think that! These gurlucks are totally to blame. You were living your life in your new home. You make beautiful clothes for us ex-pat girls. They took advantage of you both.”  
Lydia swiped at her eyes. “Gurlucks?”  
Bethany grinned, briefly. “Kalquorian. A very, very bad insult. It means someone who forcibly rapes his own mother.”  
“Oh, my God!” Lydia’s eyes went wide. “That is nasty. Especially for Kalquorians! I mean, you can’t say they’re mama’s boys, but man, do they respect their moms.”  
“I know. They’d cut off their own arms before they’d knowingly do harm to a woman.” She chuckled. “That’s how I ended up in your shop. They knocked me into a pond by accident and went all out to make up for it.”  
“Told you they were sweethearts.”  
Bethany fell silent. Yes. They were her sweethearts. She needed to get back to them. And when she did, she was going to ask them point-blank to make her their Matara. What was the worst that could happen? Certainly nothing worse than getting kidnapped by Earthers who wanted to sell her, right?  
Oh, God, she was in so much trouble. She had to get home.  
“We have to get free.”   
Lydia nodded. “I’m willing to listen to any plan you might have. I confess, I haven’t come up with anything yet that won’t just get me killed or tortured.”  
“They won’t kill us. We’re too valuable. You were right that there’s probably no way we could take over and fly this boat. So, I’m thinking we need a plan for when we get back on the rock.”  
They both froze as footsteps sounded outside the door.  
#  
Zan was running. Kalquorians ran so fast that many species saw them only as a blur. He’d been running for two hours, flat out, but he wasn’t weary. He longed to be exhausted, empty, unconscious, even.   
The vid had come through that morning. They’d seen Bethany’s code and the clan had gathered around the screen to watch. They’d been puzzled at first, when Bethany had smiled and toyed with her hair before saying anything. She glanced off to one side, as if embarrassed, then, she began to speak. Her words hadn’t registered in Zan’s head. It was his pretty girl on the screen, but what she was saying was far out of his grasp.   
“Hi, guys. I know this is going to be sudden but I’ve met someone here in Minishan. His name is Jeremy and he’s an Earther serviceman I met a year ago when he was stationed on Plasius. We dated and then he got deployed. I ran into him on Minishan and we just hit it off again, right away. We have so much in common.”  
An Earther male moved in next to Bethany and smiled and nodded at the screen. “Hi, I’m Jeremy. Bethany’s told me a lot about her guy pals, the clan.”  
Bethany put her hand in the man’s hand and smiled up at him. “We’re going to Islinn and then, we’re not sure where we’ll be. The military really keeps him hopping. We’ll be married next week and I just wanted to say goodbye and best of luck.”  
She paused for an instant and then added: “I hope you will remember me kindly. Next time you share a glass of leshella, think of me and the larks we had.” The man had leaned toward her as if to kiss her and there the vid ended. They’d all sat there, stunned.   
“What the rancid fuck was that all about?” Rejan shoved out of his chair. “How could she just turn around and go off with someone else?”  
“We didn’t clan her. We didn’t even tell her we love her.” Frell’s voice was hollow. “She didn’t know. Why wouldn’t she go off with someone else?”  
“I don’t believe it.” Zan had sat, staring at the blank screen. “Bethany wouldn’t send a vid. She wouldn’t leave us without talking to us.”  
Rejan headed for the door. Frell leapt up and followed him. “Where are you going?”  
“To Israla’s. Someone there may know who this Jeremy is.”  
“I’m with you.”   
Zan had joined them, sick with shock. Rejan had led the way to the Saucin’s receiving room. She had agreed to meet them right away.  Rejan bowed to Israla. “Saucin. You were kind to see my clan.”  
“Dramok Rejan, you and your clanmates seem disturbed. How may I help you?”  
“We need information about Bethany Corddray.”  
“Little Bethany? My lovely gardener?” Her brows drew down. “I thought she had been found weeks ago.”  
“Yes, Saucin. But we have had news that she is getting married. It is very sudden and we are surprised. She tells us she met this man while she was at the embassy. An Earther named Jeremy. He was stationed here.”  
The beautiful leader considered. “I don’t recall such a person. But then, I don’t have much contact with the Earthers stationed here. Not anymore.”  
“Begging your pardon, Saucin, but we thought perhaps Tyler Carter…?”  
Israla raised a brow. “You are very concerned for your...friend, I see.” She pulled on a satin rope and a servant came in, bowing. “Please ask my consort to join me here.”  
“Yes, Saucin.”  
The tiny aide slipped away and Israla waved to some chairs. “You already know that Bethany is here under my protection. If anything has happened to her, I will personally see to it that every inquiry is made.”  
Zan hadn’t been able to sit. He’d stood at attention behind Rejan as drinks were brought and Rejan and Israla made small talk. His heart ached. Had Bethany really left them? Was Frell right, that once again, they’d waited too long, said too little and this time, it had cost them all the love of their lives?  
Tyler Carter joined them, his stride firm and his bearing clearly military. Zan felt better around the former Colonel. He only hoped Carter could help them.   
“My love, you remember Clan Rejan. Dramok Rejan tells me their friend Bethany Corddray is about to be married to an Earther who was here a few months ago. They are concerned and wish to know more of this man.”  
Carter bowed to the clan. Zan felt his respect rise, despite his fear and doubt.   
“It’s a pleasure to see you again. I was pleased when those purity factionists were routed out. You did many people a favor that day.”  
“It was important and we were glad to do it.”  
“Please tell me what I can do for you.” Carter’s eyes looked quickly over the faces of the clan. He clearly sensed something was wrong. Rejan told the story, in brief.   
Carter frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Bethany. She wouldn’t be impulsive about something as important as marriage. At least, I don’t think so.” He opened his tablet. “You said this man’s name was Jeremy. Did you get a surname?”  
Frell looked to Rejan, who nodded for him to speak. “All she said was Jeremy.”  
Zan didn’t wait for Rejan’s permission to speak. “We have the vid she sent. You might recognize the man?” Zan called up the code on his own com and showed the images to the Saucin and Consort.  
Carter squinted. “Oh. Yeah. Jeremy Stuart. I introduced them, several months back. Good man, I thought. Didn’t mingle with the people here, but that’s not unusual for guys in service to Earth. They’re warned away from undesirable sinners.”   
He winked over his shoulder at Israla. Zan imagined no one but a lover could get away with such a liberty with the cool, regal Saucin.  
“Yeah, this is definitely Jeremy. He and Bethany went out a few times. Seemed to get along. He was deployed and that was that. I thought she said he was sent to Earth, but I’m not sure.”  
“So, he might wish to marry Matara Bethany?” Rejan’s words were cautious.  
“Well, who wouldn’t?” Carter raised his hands. “I mean, I’ve always felt sort of fatherly toward her but I think she’s a real catch. She’s one of the sweetest little souls you’d ever want to meet. Independent as hell, but a sweetheart. As nice as she is beautiful.”  
“How might we reach this Jeremy Stuart?” Zan was poised to fly.  
“That’s almost impossible to tell you. For what’s left of Earther military, secrecy is high priority. They’re more paranoid than ever these days, so their safeguards are stronger than ever. I can try to call in a couple of favors but I can’t promise anything. I’m not their flavor of the month right now.”  
“Flavor of the month. Ice cream.” Frell’s voice was soft.   
Carter grinned. “Yep. Bethany teach you that?”  
“Yes.”  
“Tyler Carter, did Bethany ever speak of my clan?”   
“No, sorry, Rejan. Israla and I have been on progress around Plasius for several weeks, so I haven’t seen Bethany for quite a while.” Carter began to tap at his tablet. “I’m going to dig into what I can. I’ll contact you as soon as I know anything.”  
“You have our codes.” Rejan stood. “We will be glad of any information you may discover.” He turned to Israla. “Saucin. I thank you for your time. Tyler Carter, thank you.” He bowed, and the rest of the clan followed suit.   
Israla lifted her arms. “Take heart, Clan Rejan. We will help you.” She looked up at Zan, her solid obsidian eyes piercing. “Are you willing to accept whatever we learn?”  
Zan had swallowed but he nodded. He could face the truth. It was not knowing that was tearing into his soul.   
“I’ll be in touch,” Carter had said.   
They’d bowed again and left. They were in the shuttle when Frell spoke. “We need to go to Minishan.”  
Rejan grimaced. “She might not want us to. She may have left for Islinn.” He paused, then growled. “I don’t know if I could tolerate it if we got there only to find her married to someone else.”  
“I agree with Frell. I do not have a good feeling about this.”  
“I can see that, my Nobek, and I’m not saying you’re wrong. But I would wait until we hear more of this Jeremy Stuart. I’ll start researching him as soon as we get back to the villa.”  
When they returned home, Zan had chafed while Rejan commed his own resources and set up searches. Tyler reached them two hours later. They clustered around the vid.   
“Greetings, Clan Rejan. I looked into Jeremy Stuart. It’s like I said, he’s got an impeccable record. No sign of trouble with anyone here or on Earth. I’d vetted him a bit before I introduced him to Bethany, of course, but this just confirms what I found.”  
Zan’s heart sank.   
“I did com with officials on Minishan. Stuart petitioned for permission to marry over a week ago. Permission was granted and expedited, per Stuart’s request.”  
“What does that mean?” Rejan asked.   
“It means he asked to get married immediately. Sometimes it means the officer is about to be deployed and wants to be married before he goes. Other times, it’s because of extenuating circumstances.”  
“Extenuating?” Zan wanted to grab the man and shake information out of him, but he knew Carter was doing his best. He calmed himself.   
Carter looked unhappy. “Extenuating circumstances can be that the spouse needs the officer’s support right away in order to live. Another one can be that the female partner is pregnant.”  
Zan thought he might choke. Bethany? Pregnant?  
“The details aren’t available. I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I think Stuart’s okay. Bethany went out with him three times, maybe? I think she’s all right.” He spread his hands. “That’s all I have for now. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open.” He gave a short bow. “Best of luck.” The vid clicked out.  
Zan felt like tearing something to pieces. He schooled his temper and looked to his clanmates. “Imdiko, what does your intuition say about this?”  
“It’s mixed. Part says she’s made a choice to go with someone of her own kind. Someone who shares some of the same memories and experiences. Another part says this is all wrong, but I don’t know why.” Frell shrugged, his face a mask of confusion and sorrow.   
Rejan raised a hand. “Wait, my clan. It’s wild but it is possible. You remember how many times you two played tricks on Bethany? And she said she’d get you back when you least expect it?”  
Zan looked at Frell, who had his hands over his face. Rejan watched, his sharp gaze on the Imdiko.   
“It is possible.” Frell moved his hands and looked up at Zan. He looked like he’d just eaten a bowl of spoiled bywes. “We teased her. Especially the night of my gala.”  
Zan shifted. “Possible. But is it likely she would pick such a...hurtful way of revenge? It doesn’t seem like Bethany.”  
Rejan gave a dry chuckle. “I have said she’s one mean Matara.”   
“Not like this!”  
Rejan raised his hands. “I just suggested it. I didn’t mean to upset you, Zan.”  
“I think we should go to Minishan. Or Islinn. Or both.”  
“My Nobek, if this is what she wants, we would just look like fools. It would hurt too much.”  
“I’ll go alone.”   
Rejan rose, his eyes snapping. “I’m forbidding it.”  
Zan’s fists were clenched. “Why?”  
Rejan’s face darkened. “You’re questioning an order?”  
“You’re not my commanding officer!”  
“No, I’m your Dramok! And I say you will not go to Minishan. We’re all staying here and packing to leave for Kalquor. Bethany made her choice and that’s all there is.” He relaxed, slightly, the snap leaving his eyes. “I don’t want you hurt, my Nobek.”  
Zan had stared at Rejan for a very long moment. Then, he bowed his head. “As you say, my Dramok.”  
Then, he had turned, and he had run. He’d run through the capital and out into the countryside, hardly looking where he was going. Now, somehow, he’d come back to the park where he’d first met his pretty girl.   
No. Not his pretty girl anymore. She belonged to some other man now. He and his clan had not made her happy. They had not asked to clan her. She must have believed that they didn’t love her. That they had just been a trio of horny aliens on holiday who’d used her for sex. He couldn’t bring himself to imagine she would reject them so cruelly if she had felt loved.   
He came to Frell’s sculpture, standing in its place near the pond. She had been so sweet looking and adorable when he’d fished her out that day. Vulnerable. Delicate. She had aroused all his protective Nobek instincts, and then, as he got to know her, she had charmed him in all ways. He’d been so sure that they were past the heartbreak of Earth. He’d believed Rejan and Bethany had proved to each other that they could get past the old animosity. The first time they’d all made love had been one of the happiest days of his life, one he’d wanted to remember forever. Now, he wanted to forget all of it.  
Maybe it was best to return to Kalquor. Their clan’s name was in the lottery for the chance to court and win an Earther Matara, but after this, he couldn’t imagine any of them wanting to clan with an Earther, ever. He didn’t want any Matara who was not Bethany.   
He turned toward the gate out of the park. He passed the shuttle stop and kept walking. It was still a long way to the villa, but he would walk it. Maybe when he got back, he’d swim some laps. Have a drink. Fall into bed and blot out this day forever.  
Rejan and Frell greeted him anxiously when he arrived. He could see they’d been worried about him. He stopped in front of them, not meeting their eyes.   
“Let’s go home.”  
“No.”   
He looked up and blinked at Rejan. His old friend put out his hand and placed it on Zan’s shoulder.   
“I was too hasty. I wasn’t so much afraid for your heart, my Nobek, as I was for my own. I was back in that stupid hole I dug for myself after leaving Earth. All I could think was that I was right to stay away from Earthers all this time.” He squeezed Zan’s shoulder. “I was being an asshat. Again. I love Bethany with all my heart. She’s Bethany, not some idea of who an Earther should be. I want to go to Minishan, or, if need be, to Islinn. One way or another, I want to know the truth.”  
Zan’s head spun at the sudden changes. He looked to Frell. Frell nodded.   
“I feel it’s right, too. I have to know. I’ve already begun packing for us to leave first thing in the morning.”  
“Thank you, my clan.” It was all Zan could say. 

ALIEN HEART, Part II  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Two

Bethany nursed her split lip and fought back tears. She was still incensed at being forced to make that bullshit vid with Jeremy Stuart. Jeremy. Right. His real name was Mike and he was part of this posse who’d come to Plasius to round up “stray” Mataras. Bounty-hunters. She’d slammed her fist into his miserable face once he’d clicked off the vid recorder. He’d paid her back in spades. But at least little Denise, Lydia’s shop clerk, had been released. They’d been holding her and torturing her all the while that Bethany was making the vid. They’d known she’d do what they said, in order to protect the younger girl.  
“You’ve got to stop beating up on these guys,” Lydia said, clucking over Bethany’s injuries. “I’m afraid they’re going to lose it and do something heinous to you, girl.”  
“That was the cruelest, most vicious thing anyone could ever do to me! To my clan! They might have been less hurt if he’d just told them I was dead. Ow! Dang, that stings.”  
“I know. Sorry. But it’s all we’ve got.” Lydia finished washing the cut and placed some industrial tape over it to hold it shut. “I think it won’t be too long before we reach Earth. Who knew these jerks could steal a Kalquorian speedship?”  
“It’s how they got out of port in Minishan. Once they were in the air, they could bypass the capital and just haul ass for the rock.”  
They heard singing and grinned at one another. The women in the cell across the way were harmonizing on a Plasian folk song, an ode to the joys of sex, of course. They knew it would piss off their guards, but they also knew they were two of the most valuable women on the ship. Rainey was a former rebel leader, who’d escaped the arm of Earth’s law by stowing away in a cargo ship to Plasius. She’d be wanted by Gov types looking to punish her, to show Earth that they still had power over sinful women who dared stand up to them. Georgette was the most beautiful woman Bethany had ever seen, with deep, blue-black hair, pale ivory skin, and startlingly blue eyes. She had the figure of a temple goddess and the Earthers drooled every time she came into their view. She would bring an astronomical price on the market where these animals traded. Her fate might prove to be benign, if some halfway decent man bid enough for her. More likely, she would go to another animal, half mad with the destruction of the home planet, who would take out his rage on her lovely body. Rainey and Georgette’s singing was the equivalent of whistling into the wind, but it gave heart to all the Earther women just the same.   
“I overheard Ugly Ed and Dickhead Dan say they’re coming in over desert. If they’re from the North American Bloc, like they sound, that makes it somewhere out west. We know Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas are all rubble. Dallas is such a hotspot, it’s a no-fly zone by popular acclaim, I’ve heard.”  
“That could put us anywhere in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California, I think. What about some of those weird places around the deserts in California? Or the Central Valley? There weren’t many big cities there, so they might have been spared.”  
“Fresno? Bakersfield? Barstow?” Bethany shook her head.  
Lydia snorted. “Yeah, who’d have imagined those places’d turn into the last best hope for Californians?”  
“Still, it’s not a bad guess. Isolation. Lower populations out in the rural areas means there are probably fewer gangs roaming about. Guys who can afford to shuttle in would have no problem there.”  
“So, let’s say we come into, I don’t know, Fresno. What’s nearby?”  
Bethany felt an odd sensation in her chest. “The Sierras.”  
“The mountains? Oh, wow. That’s a big area. A girl could get lost there.”  
They looked at each other and started to smile. Bethany held up her hand. “Wait. We can’t get ahead of ourselves. We still don’t know where we’ll land or how we’ll get out. But, if our guess is right and we can light out for the hills, somehow, that’s the way to go.”  
“I understand there are a lot of evacuation and rescue stations on Earth. There’s not much time left to get people off the planet. Do you think there will be one in California?”  
“I think it’s a good bet. But first, let’s make sure we can get away from these rat bastards.”  
“Right-oh.”  
The other women started singing old Earther pop songs from before the Government banned all but religious-themed, state-approved music. Georgette had a voice like torch singer and Rainey had a tender soprano. Somehow, the combination sounded just fine.   
“Shut the fuck up, bitches!” howled one of the guards.   
Lydia tisked. “Such language.”   
Bethany frowned. “I don’t know. I wonder if we shouldn’t be more cooperative. Lull them into thinking they’ve cowed us.”  
“They’d never believe it. Not after the way you and Rainey have fought them. And that other girl, the one from Minishan. Aisha. She’s a tiger. I think they’d be suspicious.”  
“You’re probably right. I—”  
“All right, Ma-ta-rahs, time to shut up and eat.” Ugly Ed banged open their door and barged in, carrying two plates of burnt beans and franks.   
Still can’t manage the Kalquorian cooker, can you, Ed, Bethany thought as she looked at the unappetizing mess. Too advanced for a Cro-Magnon like you.  
Her heart ached for her men. Her clan. No, she wasn’t their Matara, but she didn’t care about that any more. They were her clan. She just wanted to see them, hear them. To say she loved them, even if they didn’t love her in return. If she never saw them again, they would forever be the clan of her heart.  
#  
The Office of Records in Minishan was a low building with ornate windows and doors. Here and there, Plasian security officers, more decorative than dangerous, strolled along the walkway.   
The clan waited for a few moments, then a pair of twin Plasians approached. The two men wore small silver badges that identified them as archivists.   
“Dramok. Nobek. Imdiko. How may we be of assistance?”   
Rejan and his clan bowed. “We were told we might find a record of a recent marriage that took place here in Minishan. One of the parties was a friend of ours.”  
The first twin pursed his lips. “Such records are sealed. They are a private matter between the state and the individuals who have married.”  
“You understand that we are not permitted to share them unless you have a writ of law.” The second twin nodded officiously.  
“Of course.” Rejan bowed again. “Your diligence is much respected. But we are concerned about our friend. We don’t know whom she married or where she’s gone.”  
“The Saucin advised us to come here, as did her consort, Colonel Carter,” Frell put in.  
Twin Two was eyeing Zan. Rejan suppressed a smile. Usually, his Imdiko who was the one attracting sexual attention. The top of the Plasian’s head did not reach the middle of Zan’s chest, yet that had never discouraged an amorous Plasian. Twin Two turned to Rejan.  
“Perhaps we could come to some sort of arrangement, Dramok.”   
Rejan nodded. “We would count it a signal favor. What do you need from us?”  
They were ushered to a work desk and the twins entered Bethany’s name into the computer. Sheaves of virtual documents, all marked Confidential, appeared in the air.  
“She worked in Earth Ambassador Martin’s office before it was closed.” Frell pointed to the red files. “Likely those are still classified. That’s as it should be.”  
“We have no interest in any of those.” Rejan waved a hand. “We only need to know if our friend was recently married.”  
“Let me see.” Twin One tapped in more data, the red files vanished, and several blue files rose. He waved a finger across the array that floated before him, sorting and murmuring under his breath as he worked. He stopped when a green file appeared.   
“Here. Yes. I cannot tell you any details. Excuse me.” Twin Two slipped on special glasses to read the hidden, encrypted data in the file. He studied the document and Rejan saw his glance go to Zan again. He looked a bit more hopeful. That might mean bad news.   
“Your friend was indeed in Minishan. She was married three weeks ago. That is all I am allowed to tell you.”  
“Three weeks.” Zan’s voice sounded hollow as he met Rejan’s eyes.   
“Yes. That is correct.”   
Twin Two slipped off his glasses and shut down the files and the computer. “Does that help you?”  
Rejan inclined his head. “Yes. Thank you. You’ve been very generous.”  
The clan bowed and left. Before they reached the street, Zan halted. “My Dramok. I need to go back. I have one more question.”  
“Go ahead, my Nobek.” Zan turned and was gone in a blur.   
Rejan frowned at Frell. The Imdiko raised a brow. “Zan could break that man’s heart.”   
“Zan’s heart is already in jeopardy.”  
Frell paced away, then back. “What are we looking for, Rejan? Are we looking for confirmation that she abandoned us? That she was swept off her feet by an Earther? Are we worried she’s come to harm? Or that she just wanted to go off on her own? That maybe we pissed her off and she hates us now?”  
“Yes to all of those.”  
Frell bit his lip. “I thought as much. But we know now that she was indeed married here. Three weeks ago! We’ve been so slow!”  
“There was some delay in transmission, perhaps?” Rejan leaned against the sun-warmed wall but the heat did nothing to ease the tension in him.   
The Imdiko shook his head. “Do you think she sent them later so that we couldn’t follow her?” He rubbed his chest. “That idea hurts.”  
“It does.”  
Zan came hurrying back a few minutes later. He did not look happy. “The man she married was this Jeremy Stuart. He gave his location as California, Earth.”  
He stalked away, headed for the shuttles. Rejan hurried after him, Frell at his heels. They climbed into a shuttle and Zan gave directions back to the transport station outside of Minishan.   
“We’re going home?” Frell asked.   
“Yes.”   
Zan settled into his seat and stared out the window. Rejan had never seen his clanmate look so utterly flattened, like he’d had the life-source removed from his body and only the mechanics were still working.   
Frell shot him a glance, telling him he was wondering if they should try to talk to their Nobek. Rejan shook his head. It was too soon. Zan was still processing. If they pressed him, there was no knowing what the hurting warrior might do. Frell nodded in agreement and they rode to the transport in still-heavier silence, all the way back to the capital and their villa, and through the rest of the day.   
Rejan woke in the middle of the night. He started up, knowing he heard a crash. He glanced about, saw Frell staring at him. No Zan. They were out of the bed and racing through the house in a blink.   
The followed the crashing out into the back garden. There, in the moonlight, stood Zan, dressed in formsuit and boots. He was tearing apart the greenhouse with his bare hands.   
“Shit.” Frell started forward.   
Rejan grabbed his arm. “He might not know what he’s doing. He could hurt you without realizing it.”  
“But he’s going to tear himself to bits!” Frell whisper was frantic.   
“Then we’ll take him to a doctor. It might be best if we allow him to finish.”  
Frell stood, eyes wide, watching the Nobek rip out beams, smash glass, tear up walls. Rejan wanted to go to Zan as much as Frell did, but he knew he had to let this run its course. Zan was trying to end the nightmare by destroying this symbol of their love for Bethany and the dreams she had embodied for him. His feelings of love for her were still intact, but now they were linked with shame that he hadn’t been able to keep her for his own. That she betrayed them. If he wasn’t allowed this release, Zan might not be able to keep his control and then he might really get into trouble. Frell paced about, his fists clenched. Rejan stood, trying to stay calm.  
He recalled the day he’d returned to Larke’s house in the Sierras. Zan had caught him before he could run into the clearing and into the house. The huge firefighter had wrestled him to the ground and bitten him, over and over. All the while, Rejan had been screaming, or trying to, with Zan’s hand clamped over his mouth.   
“Be quiet, Dramok. If you go out there, you’ll be killed. There’s nothing you can do!”  
Zan had been right. He’d looked up only seconds later to watch the roof cave in with a roar and a thundering crash. Sparks had flown hundreds of feet in the air, it seemed. Rejan had struggled again and Zan had bitten him again. He began to feel the intoxicant, making him surrender. Still, the Nobek had held him, his grip on him stronger than iron, somehow stronger even than Rejan’s horror and guilt and rage. When he’d succumbed at last to the many bites, Zan had dragged him away. For weeks, the Nobek had allowed him to rampage around the mountains, well away from the murdering villagers who’d torched Larke’s home. Or their Kalquorians superiors, who might well lock Rejan away. He’d known that if he hadn’t, Rejan might have taken his rage elsewhere or turned it upon himself. He’d watched him, stopped him when he went too far and put himself in danger. He’d pinned him and bound him and bitten him when it looked like he was going off the edge. He’d done this for Rejan without really even knowing him, Without thought of repayment or thanks.  
Zan had let him grieve, made it safe for him to go through it. It was a long time before he realized what a gift the Nobek had given him. He’d tried to say thanks, but Zan had waved it away. Rejan tried to remember, every day, to show his appreciation for the quiet giant who’d saved his life. Even now, gratitude filled his chest. Zan was the finest man Rejan had ever met. The best friend he’d ever had. To see him suffer was horrible. Yet, to try to change his clanmate’s feelings was both impossible and wrong. Zan had fallen in love with a female for the first time and now that tender new love was in pieces, like the glass shattering around him. Rejan himself hurt for what Bethany had done to them all. But for Zan, this was his Larke, his burning cabin. He was going to be in pain for a long time. He and Frell must be there for him, be strong for him, regardless of their own hurt and loss.   
“What the hell happened?” Frell growled. “Why would she do this?”  
Rejan shrugged. “I’ve been over and over it in my mind. I have no answers. Only the fact that she did.” He didn’t say what he was suspecting: Despite all her talk about independence and being a proud ex-patriate, Bethany had chosen Earth, in the end.  
More thunderous crashing resounded as Zan tore up the plumbing. By the ancients, it looked like he planned to raze the entire structure and salt the earth beneath.   
Frell stood at his side, shaking. “My poor clanmate. His tender heart. Everything about this is so fucking wrong.”  
“We’ll see him through this. We’ll see each other through.”  
“What about you, my Dramok? Can I do anything for you?”  
Rejan turned to see Frell’s eyes blazing with both pain and caring. To think of others in the midst of his own suffering was typical of the Imdiko. He touched Frell’s shoulder. “Thank you. No. I have—I need—nothing.”  
Zan was running out of things to destroy. He would have to begin hauling away debris if he was going to dig down into the foundation. He stopped at last, panting in the pale light, his face glistening with sweat, his huge chest heaving. He took a heavy beam and with a grunt, swung it out into the darkness beyond the garden. His head tilted back and he howled at the moons, a wounded and enraged beast. He turned and saw them watching him. He snarled, choked, and fled over the wall.   
“Zan, no!”   
Rejan held back Frell once again. “Let him go for now. I don’t think he’s a danger to himself or others.”  
“How do you know that?”  
Rejan felt his stomach drop. “I don’t. I can only hope our Nobek’s good sense triumphs over his need to strike back.”  
Frell stared at the wall. “Where do you think he’s going?”  
“I don’t know. But I do know that we cannot catch him. Not now. He needs to run.”  
Zan had indeed run. Rejan learned later that the Nobek had pelted out of the capital and run all the way to Lake Lemurra. He’d dived in and swum laps the whole length of the huge lake until he shivered. Then, he’d run all the way back to the villa, where he’d plunged into the pool and swum laps until he could barely drag his body out of the water. He’d tossed down two strong drinks and passed out on the lounger.   
Rejan was glad to have him home, but his clanmate was so battered and bruised, he looked like he’d gone through battle. Frell managed to slip an injection into him to knock him out for a short while so he could treat the worst of his injuries and give him some nourishment. The tender Imdiko stroked Zan’s forehead and combed out his hair, then braided it again before he walked away to his own room and shut the door.   
Rejan sank onto the chair nearest the lounger. He stared at his friend, his lover, his clanmate and partner. Ten years now, they’d practically been each other’s all in all. They’d been raucously, openly joyous when they’d clanned Frell. All of them had been so happy to have Bethany with them. Her sweetness and tart humor and her delectable little body had filled them with hope and contentment.   
Then she’d turned and blasted them apart. Made them all look and feel like fools.   
It was his fault. He knew better than to trust an Earther—any Earther. They were at best weak or stupid, at worst: murderous and vengeful. He’d let his clan in for this when he’d relented and let his desires and his guilt about his first night with Bethany cloud his reason. He’d allowed a viper in their midst. He’d failed them.  
He got up and strode to the windows, looking out but seeing nothing. One good thing had happened: he’d held back from clanning her. She had no hold on them, no law could make them take her back, if she ever did come back. They would go on with their lives, get past this, and she could rot in the darkest hole of the galaxy for all he cared.   
He heard Zan stir. He looked over at the slumbering warrior. Tomorrow, they would still be grieving. But they’d be one more day away from the hurt. He’d learned that when he’d been recovering from his grief over Larke. Each day was one more step that left it all in the past.   
His clan was his future. They needed to stay together, see each other through. They might need some outside help. Even their good Imdiko couldn’t be expected to help them as much as he might wish; he had his own loss to face.   
As for Zan, well, Zan had always been there for him. That had never wavered. He would be there for Zan. He’d do whatever it took to help his clan.   
He looked away and leaned his forehead against the window. “Whatever it takes.”  
#  
Bethany stood by Mike and watched him try to grasp the directions appearing on the screen in the cockpit. He was a fair pilot but he was no scholar and his knowledge of Kalquorian was nil. She did her best to act casually as she read the words sputtering across the readout. They were nearing Earth. They were heading toward the North American sector, just as they’d thought. But the screen was also telling them that something was wrong. Landing was going to be a bumpy ride, to say the least. Mike might manage to crash this beautiful ship and end them all.  
Still, if they crashed and survived, she and the others might find a way to take advantage and get free. Some way. Somehow.   
She’d heard some low conversation between Dickhead Dave and Rancid Rick, as the women had nicknamed them. They were talking about an auction and how the invitations had all been accepted. They would be in the money in no time. They were also speculating whether they could get away with raping one or more of the women before handing them over to the auctioneers. Their poor little cook and maid of all work had taken to her bed, half-dead with exhaustion from both working for them and servicing them sexually. They were tired of her, anyway. Bethany hoped the woman made it out alive, too. She might be completely indoctrinated, but she didn’t deserve the sort of treatment Mike’s Butthead Brigade dished out daily.   
She glanced at the readout again, trying to find a date. She almost gasped when she saw the data and realized how long they’d been gone. Oh, God. How were her men? Were they truly alive after that explosion? How were they doing? They probably hated her. They’d probably gone back to Kalquor and they’d use her name as a synonym for shit for the rest of their long lives.  
“Oh, this is good!” Ugly Ed came into the cockpit with his com in hand. “Got the feed from our man in the capital on Plasius. It’s better than an old time movie-vid.”   
The men had clustered around and watched avidly, then had all burst out in shouts and laughter. They made Ed play it again, then Mike had taken it and brought it to Bethany.   
“Here, Mah-tah-rah. You are going to love this. Wait’ll you see what’s going on with your clan full of mongrels.”  
He hit the play command again and held it front of her face. Bethany watched with growing horror.  
#  
Rejan was almost finished with his business on Plasius. Zan had hauled away the remains of the greenhouse but he haunted the gardens when he wasn’t running or swimming laps at the lake or working out like a fiend. Rejan couldn’t wait to get off Plasius and head for home. Even by fast transport, it would take months to get to Kalquor but anything was better than hanging around here.  
Zan was quieter, for the most part, but he was eating very little and working himself furiously. He seldom slept the whole night, and he was the last to come to bed and the first to rise. None of them had the heart for sex or even bodily contact. It hurt too much.   
One afternoon, however, Rejan came in from a meeting and heard snarls and sounds of intense, non-erotic pain from the sleeping room. Swiftly, he entered and saw Zan had Frell pressed into the sleeping mat. He was pounding into him from behind and he had his hand wrapped around Frell’s throat, too tightly, Rejan could see. Frell had blood on the corner of his mouth and several serious bites. His eyes were screwed shut, his face ashen. He was going to pass out. Rejan lunged onto the sleeping mat and took hold of Zan’s braid. He yanked hard as he spoke, clearly but not loudly.   
“Zan, let go of Frell, now.”  
Zan obeyed at once. Rejan’s heart thumped. Thank the ancestors Zan could still respond. He didn’t want to fight his Nobek, especially when Zan was roused and in pain.   
Zan stopped pumping at Frell and braced himself on his hands, gasping. The Imdiko fell forward, whooping air into his lungs.   
Rejan tugged gently. “Zan, move away.”  
Zan slid out of Frell, threw himself across the mat and sat, bending over the side, chest heaving, shoulders shuddering. Rejan checked Frell.   
“I’m all right. He surprised me. He—I thought—” Frell fought to speak through his sore throat. “Please, Rejan. I don’t want to lose him.”  
Rejan squeezed his shoulder. “Can you hold on for a moment? I’ll be back to help.”  
Frell nodded and dipped back down into the bedding. Rejan winced at the bruises and bites on his back. He got off the bed and went around to stand before Zan.   
“Why did you attack our Imdiko?” He kept his voice as neutral as possible, though he was seething with myriad, towering emotions: fear, fury, pain, grief.  
“I’m sorry, my Dramok.” Zan’s voice was softer and more choked than Frell’s. He pulled himself up stiffly. He snapped to attention. “I hurt Frell. It is unforgivable. I will accept my punishment. Any punishment.”  
“I’ll decide that later. Just tell me what happened.”  
Zan looked more ready to have all his teeth torn out than to talk. Still, he followed Rejan’s order. “I was trying to send a vid to my supervisor. The vid wasn’t cooperating. I got angry and I began to pound on it. Frell came in. He knelt before me. He offered to help. I—I assaulted him. I hit him. Then I dragged him in here and took him against his will.”  
“Is this true, Frell?”  
Frell pulled himself up to a sitting position behind Zan. “Not entirely.” His voice was a weak croak. “He didn’t take me against my will. I wanted to have sex with him. I thought it might help us both. But he changed quickly and he was...rougher than usual.”  
“I hit you. I choked you. I wanted to hurt you.”   
Rejan recognized Zan’s tone. He was being mercilessly honest and hard on himself. Well he might, as he had almost strangled their clanmate to death. If Rejan hadn’t come in when he had, he wasn’t sure what might have happened. But this behavior was so far from the Zan he knew, he could hardly take it in. The sorrow and bewilderment in Frell’s eyes said he felt much the same.   
“Were you angry with Frell?”  
He shook his head. “No. I just wanted to hurt someone. I am sorry. It is unforgivable. I wait for your punishment. Then, I will leave.”  
“Before you go off, you will talk with us.” Rejan pulled a stool over and sat looking at his clanmates. “I want to know what set you off, Zan. Why would you suddenly decide to hurt your Imdiko?”  
His Nobek looked sick. “He was too kind. He saw I was a fool. I lost control.”  
“Did Frell call you a fool?”  
Zan’s eyes were still glassy. “No. He was being too kind.”  
“And his kindness made you feel like a fool?”  
“Yes.”  
Rejan thought he understood. To Zan, Frell’s tenderness had felt like pity. It made him feel weak and vulnerable, two conditions no Nobek tolerated. When added to the hurt and humiliation of Bethany’s betrayal, he’d lost control and used anger and violence to assert his dominance over the Imdiko, to master something in his world. In his pain, he’d forgotten that, for all his saltiness and his own masculine needs, Frell would have readily, even happily submitted to almost anything to help his clanmate feel better; his Nobek had simply to ask for it. Zan could have kept him in bed, in hover cuffs and more, and erotically tormented him for a week and the Imdiko would scarcely have complained. That would be a matter of sexual pleasure and of love and of offering comfort and delight to his mate. But Zan’s attack must have felt like a betrayal to the younger man. Another betrayal in their midst.  
For his part, Frell had used poor judgement in offering gentle treatment to an already angry Zan. The three of them still weren’t familiar enough with each other to know how each of them reacted to an emotional crisis. They’d need to talk about this more. But right now, he needed to tend to Frell’s wounds.   
He rose. “Zan, stay here. I’ll be back soon.”  
He helped Frell off the bed. The Imdiko winced and was unsteady for a moment, then nodded for Rejan to let him go. They went to the bath and Rejan got out the med kit to check him over. He was bruised, inside and out, and there was some tearing, but Rejan could see Frell really didn’t care about his physical wounds. He was working hard to understand his emotions and Zan’s. As he treated his injuries, Rejan knew the Imdiko was more concerned with Zan than with himself. Typical Frell. Talked smart, but in his heart: tender.  
Rejan undressed, then gently took his clanmate into the shower and bathed him. Frell tried to protest, but Rejan just ignored him. When he was finished, he wrapped him in a drying sheet and led the way to the greeting area. He sat the Imdiko on the lounger and made him a strong drink.   
“Stay here and rest. I must speak to Zan before he decides to do something hideous to himself with his blade.”  
Frell looked startled. “He wouldn’t! No, Rejan, I’m all right! Tell him!”  
Rejan nodded. “I know. I will. Thank you for your understanding, my Imdiko.” He found Zan sitting on the sleeping mat, right where he’d left him.   
“How is he?”  
Rejan took the footstool again. “Banged up. Bruised. Torn a little. Couple of bad bites. Nothing too serious. He’s resting.”  
Zan’s eyes were haunted. “I hurt him. I treated him like a slave. Less than a slave. Like an animal.”  
“Let’s not get carried away. You were too hard on him, yes. But you frightened him more than anything else. He didn’t recognize his Nobek.”  
“All he wanted was to be kind. To be himself.”  
“I know. And you were being yourself, a man with a broken heart.”  
Zan’s head dropped. “His heart is broken, too.”  
“Yes. We’re all hurting. What you did was wrong, but it was understandable, at least to me. You’ll have to make amends to Frell and explain to him. But most of all, we need to get the hell off this planet.”  
“You should go. Leave me.”  
Rejan snarled. “Say that again and I’ll start to consider it.” He softened. “There’s no way we’re letting you go. You are ours and we are yours. This was just proof that something bad happened to all of us and we need to stay together and move on together.”  
“I must face punishment.”  
“Stop being such a damned stick-up-the-butt Nobek. I am your Dramok and I’ll punish you when and how I choose, so quit trying to top me!”  
Zan looked startled at the outburst. Rejan saw with relief that some of the life returned to his eyes. He had no desire to punish Zan for his loss of control when he was in such bewildering pain, but he knew he must or the Nobek would feel out of balance and the lesson might not sink in. Although he doubted Zan would forget. Zan loved their Imdiko as much as he did and to have hurt him, the one he was life-sworn to defend and protect, was devastating. Rejan would have to think carefully and devise something appropriate for him, while still focusing on getting over this new attack on his clan’s happiness.   
Later that night, after they’d eaten and rested, Rejan went to his own room and collapsed in the chair. He was so exhausted his hair ached. Tomorrow, he’d gather his mates and they’d make plans to leave Plasius as soon as possible. He’d tell Zan his punishment. They’d agree that when they got home, they’d see how they were doing and if they were still in pain, they’d get clan counseling.   
He drowsed, then wakened and dragged himself down the hall to the sleeping mat. There, for the first time in weeks, his Imdiko and his Nobek were asleep together, Zan’s big body cupping Frell’s, his arm over his chest, protecting him. That Frell would trust their Nobek to shelter him while he slept spoke volumes about both men and the durability of their relationship. Rejan shook his head. Maybe they’d be all right. He stripped and climbed in on the other side of Frell. He sighed and savored the warmth.   
Still, the cold thought came to him: Bethany Corddray Stuart had better never, ever show her face on Kalquor.  
#  
Bethany was going to vomit. She held her stomach and tried to take deep breaths through her nose. Her head spun.  
“Helluva deal, huh?” Mike pinched her breast. “The animals you were fucking are just bits of meat now.”  
He hit the button and the vid he held before her face played again. She shut her eyes but the sounds came out loud and clear. The images were already burned into her mind.   
Rejan, Frell, and Zan were getting out of their shuttle and walking up to the villa. They were so beautiful in the light of a Plasian sunset. They were coming home, perhaps getting ready to have evening meal. Zan would swim laps. Frell would listen to music as he and Rejan cooked. They were together and happy.   
They walked up to the front door and went inside. The door closed and there was silence for a long second. No motion. Then, the entire villa exploded. Flames and debris rocketed toward the sky, while waves of heat shimmered in front of the vid lens. Glass glittered in the light. Wood and tile and plaster rained down. A rolling thunderclap underscored it all. A large section of the villa—the part where the clan most likely had been—had collapsed in on itself. No one could have survived.   
Then, there was silence again. Someone—the one holding the vid she guessed—chuckled. “Boom,” he whispered. The sound of sirens came from the distance. “Well, shit. Time to go.” Another chuckle and the vid went black.  
Mike pinched her breast again. “Open your eyes, Mah-tah-rah.” He shook her.   
“Stop calling me that. I’m not a Matara.”  
“Oh, I bet you are. I understand those animals don’t even have a wedding ceremony. They take a woman they want and she has to live with them in sin.”  
“And blowing up innocent people isn’t a sin?”  
“Them taking our women and brainwashing them and fucking them isn’t?”  
“I wasn’t talking about Kalquorians. I was talking about how Earth blew up its own people.”  
Mike’s face went red. “Those damned giant apes triggered it! No one would have died if the fucking Kalqs had just backed off and left our women alone.” His hand wrapped more tightly on her arm.   
She glared. “Bullshit, Mike. You don’t care about any of that. You’re not interested in protecting women. All you care about is getting money by selling them.”  
He stared, then barked a laugh. “That’s true, you little beast-fucker. But I fought those bastards in the war. They kill and eat their enemies, did you know that? I’ve seen them ripping out men’s throats in hand-to-hand combat, using their damn fangs and drinking their blood. They deserve whatever they get.”  
“You don’t—”  
“Shut the fuck up! You fucked three of the animals at the same time, didn’t you? That’s six cocks, isn’t it? Shit, you’re no better than an animal yourself.”  
“Then maybe you shouldn’t—”  
He slammed his fist into her stomach and she doubled over. He took a fistful of her hair and dragged her off the bridge and down the hall. He came to her door and shoved her inside. He pointed his blaster at Lydia. “Shackle her.”  
Lydia gave Bethany an apologetic glance. Bethany gave her a reassuring nod. When she was done, Bethany sat against the wall, her stomach aching, her head aching, her heart nearly broken. She refused to cry in front of the bastard Earther.   
“See you later, Mah-tah-rah. Hope you’re not hungry ‘cause you’re gonna be missing some meals, bitch.”  
He slammed the door and bolted it. Bethany sagged, holding her stomach.   
“What the hell happened?”  
She looked at her friend and the tears began to well. “They killed them, Lydia. They murdered my clan—”  
She couldn’t go on. She bent over and began to weep, huge, shuddering sobs. She felt as if she could cry until she died. She wanted to die. Her loves! Gone! She’d never see them again. She’d never be able to tell them she loved them.   
She sobbed until her throat closed and she had to wipe her face with the oily cloth Lydia handed to her. The other woman looked at her with tears edging her own eyes.   
“What happened?” she asked again.   
“They h-had a vid.” Bethany stopped, forcing her breath to come more smoothly. “They showed me. They blew up their house. My clan. Blew it up while they were inside.”  
“Oh, Jesus. And they call Kalquorians animals.”  
“Why? Why would they do that? They already had me. My clan never did anything to them!”  
Lydia chewed her lip as she thought. “I think your clan has called attention to themselves.”  
“How? They think I ran off with some Earther guy and got married. They probably think I’m garbage. They’re probably relieved they didn’t clan me.”  
“I doubt that. I saw that Imdiko and that Nobek with you in my shop. They were nuts about you, girlfriend, right from the start. You’ve told me how they came to find you when you ran away from the purity nuts. You said you all were in love.”  
Bethany choked back more tears. “I thought we were. But they never said so. They never asked me to clan with them. I don’t think they wanted me that way.”  
“I don’t know. Remember what I said to you that day at Bliss? Kalquorians are picky. They love sex, but they don’t take a woman home and feed her by hand or chase after her when she freaks out if they aren’t seriously interested.”  
“I’ll never know, now, will I?”  
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry.”  
Bethany wept some more, but she was exhausted. She felt hollowed out, bruised, battered, and defeated. If her lovers were dead, what was the point?  
She hadn’t realized how deeply she loved them. She hadn’t known them that long, but she felt like they were a part of her already. As dear as family, maybe moreso. She’d been looking forward to coming home to them from Minishan, making plans to broach the subject of clanning her. She’d been looking forward to the rest of her life with them. She had wanted to belong to someone at last. Now all that had been taken away.   
She fell into a fitful sleep, her dreams threaded through with repeating images of the villa exploding into the skies. She kept running after her clan, looking for them, but they were nowhere to be found. She woke with a hangover from weeping.  
Lydia tried to get her to take half of her meal, but Bethany refused. She had no appetite.   
“You need it more than I do.”  
Lydia rolled her eyes. “How do you figure that?”   
“What I do isn’t important any more. If they starve me, so what? I have nothing to fight for. But you’re going to need to fight back and help the others, like we planned.”  
“Oh, no you don’t.” Lydia shook a finger in her face. “You don’t get to quit, my friend. You’re in this with all of us and I’m not going to let you give in to these assholes.” Her eyes went suddenly bright. “You know, hon, they made all of us make one of those phony vids, those of us who had any connections left on Plasius.”  
“So?” One more rotten blow against her clan, that vid.  
“So, what if the vid they showed you was a phony, too?”  
Bethany scowled. “Why would they do that? What’s the point?”  
Lydia raised her hands. “Why do they do anything? They’re insane, remember?”  
“They’re insane but they’re motivated by greed. Bastard Mike wants money. He has all the women this ship can carry. We’re well on our way to Earth. Why just keep hammering us?”  
“Because they want to take away our hope. They think if they hit us with crap like that vid that we’ll give up and just be nice little sheep. Their rich clients don’t want uppity females. They want broken ones.” Lydia’s lips quirked. “And you, my friend, are one of the ones who’s given them the most trouble. They must know you’ve become a leader for us. They’re targeting you.”  
Bethany felt a tiny seed of hope returning, becoming a bud within her. “Do you think it was a fake? My men aren’t dead?”  
“Honestly? I’d bet my left boob they’re alive and well.”  
Bethany threw her arms around her. “Oh, God, I hope so. I have to believe that, don’t I?”   
“If you’re going to be any good to yourself, to your clan, and to us, yeah.” Lydia returned her hug.  
Bethany gave a short laugh. “Plus, I don’t want you to lose your left boob.” She gasped. “There’s something I forgot to tell you! When I was on the bridge, I got a look at the controls panel.”  
“Did you find a way to get us out?”  
“No, sorry. But I saw an icon flashing away in one corner. It’s not labeled but when I went flying in a Kalquorian shuttle once, my—Frell told me what the symbol meant. They’re developing serious trouble with their fueling system.”  
Lydia grimaced. “What does that mean?”  
“It means that if they don’t repair it soon, they’re going to crash this bucket.”  
They stared at each other. Bethany shook her head. She knew what Lydia was thinking: if they crashed they might have a chance to escape.   
“I don’t think we can risk it, Lyds.” She scrubbed at her face. “I caught a glimpse of their flight plan and a map and we’re not close enough. If the system fails now, we’ll just die out here with Bastard Mike and the Buttheads.”  
Lydia nodded. “You’re right. Are you going to tell them?”  
“I have to. I can’t let you all die just because these idiots can’t read Kalquorian.”  
“If they can’t read, how will they know how to fix it?”  
“Most onboard systems have vid repair manuals. If they can access those, they can just follow the pretty pictures.” She smiled wryly. “I know it seems like we’re aiding and abetting the enemy but I think I have to tell them.  
“Will they believe you?”  
“I don’t know. All I know is I have to take the chance.”  
Later, when Ugly Ed came to collect Lydia’s plate, Bethany told him she had to talk to Mike. He sneered.   
“Like fun, you do. The skipper’s busy. You just sit tight and don’t mouth off.”  
“You don’t understand. I’ve been in a Kalquorian ship. I saw a light blinking on the bridge today and I know it means trouble if you guys don’t do some repairs right away.”  
“Yeah, like you speak Kalquorian.”  
She fired off a staccato stream of the guttural language. He blinked. “Damn, you sound just like one of those ugly beasts.”  
“Are you going to tell your skipper?”  
He hesitated. “All right. But it’s up to him. If he don’t think you’re legit, you’ll stay right where you are, bitch.”  
“Fine.”  
He left and Bethany blew out a long breath. Lydia had a surprised look on her face.   
“That really was Kalquorian, wasn’t it?”  
“Oh, yeah. I learned at least half of it phonetically but it’s the real deal. It’s an absolutely filthy limerick my Im—Frell taught me. I was rehearsing it so I could unleash it on our Dramok at just the right moment.”  
Her friend snorted. “A dirty limerick from a female to a Dramok? Your Rejan must not be one of those hide-bound stickler types.”  
Bethany grinned. “He can be. But he happened to have clanned a couple of jokers and I, well, I was the perfect ventriloquist’s dummy for them to use to shock Rejan.”  
“Oh man, you have to get back to those guys. They’re gonna be so tickled to hear your adventures with the Butthead Brigade.”  
“I’ll have to tell you the story of the trick Frell and Zan pulled on me when I wore your silk dress for the first time.”  
“Can’t wait. Let’s—”  
The door came open and Bastard Mike, King of the Buttheads, stepped in. His unpleasant, sherry-colored eyes bore into Bethany.   
“You read Kalquorian?”  
Bethany shook her head. “No. But I have been flying with a Kalquorian pilot. A light came on his control panel and he freaked. He shut down almost everything and went to make repairs immediately.”  
“And you saw that light on our control panel?”  
“I did. Your fuel system is failing.”  
“Bullshit.”  
She shrugged. “Don’t believe me, then.”  
“This is a trick.”  
She gave him a pained look. “I have no reason to trick you. I don’t want to die up here with you. You need to find the repair vids and fix it. Skip-Purr.”  
He raised his hand, ready to strike. She lifted her chin and met his eyes. He faltered.   
“Shit. All right, but you better be telling me the truth.”  
“Or what, you’ll sell me into slavery?” Oh Lord, her mouth was going to get her killed. She waited, breath held, as Mike deliberated.  
“Get her loose and down to the bridge.”  
Ugly Ed unlocked her shackles and dragged her out of the room. She stumbled to keep up as he trotted after his leader. They were on the bridge in moments.  
“Cuff her.” Mike waited while Ed bound her. The other crew members on the bridge watched with mild interest. “Show me.”  
She pointed to the squiggle in the bottom right corner that looked a little bit like a sheaf of wheat. “There. That’s the light you don’t want to see. Like I said, when the Kalquorian flyer I was with saw it, he beat feet for the engine compartment.”  
“Rick. Check out that icon. See if you can match it to anything on our system.”  
The co-pilot flashed through vids on the console’s computer. After laboring through the wimpy Earther retrieval and translation process, he located the image.   
“Holy shit, she’s right, Skipper. Means the uptake process is compromised.”  
“Dammit!” Mike pulled himself together. “All right. Get the repair data and get to the engine. Now!”  
He turned to Bethany. “You’re gonna stay right here till we know you’re not bullshitting. If I find out you punked us, I’ll kill you right here on the spot.”   
He shoved her into a chair bolted into the deck and manacled her to it. Bethany just shrugged and watched as the co-pilot searched for an instructional vid. When he had it, it took only a minute before he bolted off the bridge like Tragooms were after him.   
They ignored her for an hour or more. Mike had swiveled her chair so she was facing away from the controls, so she couldn’t see much. But what she could do was hear. Under the noise of the engines, the air system, the talk of the men and the general noises of the ship, she heard a steady stream of Kalquorian pouring very quietly out from a speaker in the panel near her feet.   
She could make out enough to know that the ship was indignant at being hijacked. It had tripped all the silent alarm systems and was broadcasting signals into space, looking to alert anyone who came within hailing distance. She wasn’t sure if it could actually reach all the way back to Kalquor, but what if it could reach Plasius?  
Another reason to hope. She was warmed by Lydia’s words, telling her that she was a leader and the other women were looking to her to help them escape. She wasn’t going to let them down. She had plenty of resources. They would do this.   
If they died trying, then so be it. But she wasn’t just going to give in. She would reason like a Dramok, observe like an Imdiko, and fight like a Nobek.   
In other words, she was going to be one mean Matara.

ALIEN HEART, PART TWO  
Inspired by the Clans of Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter 3

Frell groaned as he turned and shoved the debris off of him. He could hear emergency klaxons approaching. His eyes were full of dust and he blinked to clear them. He caught sight of a hand poking out from under a nearby pile of upholstery and he shoved himself to his knees. He crawled to the hand and began shoving away the rubble. He saw Rejan’s face emerge, covered in cuts. He didn’t respond to Frell’s touch.  
“Rejan!” Frell patted his face. “My Dramok, wake up!”  
He pressed his ear to Rejan’s chest and was blessed with the sound of a slowly, steadily beating heart. He shook his mate’s shoulder. “Come on, get your sorry ass off the floor!”  
One of Rejan’s eyes opened and he glared at Frell. Frell felt his own heart speed up. By the suns, he was all right! At least, right enough to be pissed off at him. “Don’t move, my Dramok. I have to find Zan.”  
Frell made it to his feet, even though one of his legs screamed at him on the way up. He staggered around the space that used to be the greeting room of the villa as the sirens shrieked closer. He heard Rejan hiss and curse as he tried to get up and help.  
“Stay there. If you’ve broken anything beside your hard head, you won’t help it by moving.”  
Rejan snarled at him, but stayed put. Frell continued his painful way across the room. Zan had entered the villa first, his customary precaution in case any threat was on the other side of the door. Evidently, there had been. But Frell couldn’t recall where his Nobek had been when the house had blown up. Then he saw him.  
“Frell! Over by the kitchen!” Rejan’s voice was hoarse with the dust.  
Frell clambered painfully over fallen and battered furniture and saw Zan’s body lodged against the wall. He looked like he’d been thrown against it in the explosion. He picked his way to him and knelt to check him.  
“He’s breathing but his heartbeat is irregular, Rejan. I see a lot of blood, dammit.”  
“Emergency unit’s here. Are you all right, my Imdiko?”  
“I’m fine. Hurt my leg, some cuts.”  
Emergency personnel had burst in then, and the place filled with Plasians. Zan was still unconscious and it took several members of the emergency team to hoist the big man onto the combined hover-stretchers it took to support him. The same for Rejan, although the Dramok tried to wave them off. His leg was clearly broken and Frell had to urge him to lie down and cooperate or he’d be no use to him or Zan.  
They were taken to the nearest medical facility, where special arrangements had to be made to manage the giant bodies of the alien clan. The Plasians were solicitous and very apologetic, even though Frell assured them they understood that their facilities weren’t designed for Kalquorians.  
Zan had come to in the emergency shuttle but he had several broken ribs and a broken arm. He was somewhat confused and Frell learned he’d taken a mighty blow to the back of the head, which was how he’d lost so much blood. Frell immediately put himself into the blood supply unit to insure a quick transfusion if necessary. He and Zan shared a blood-type. Only a handful of the known synthetic blood products would work with Zan’s system and Frell was taking no chances. Afterward, he was given blood-regenerating nutrients and another mild pain-inhibitor for his leg. He was able to see his Nobek just before they took him to mend his breaks.  
“Happened?” Zan’s eyes were rolling a bit as Frell gazed down at him.  
“Things went boom at the villa. We have open-air everything now, I believe. Skylights in every room.”  
“How?”  
“That I don’t know. Don’t worry, my Nobek. We’ll talk when they’re done reattaching your cocks and adding some antlers to your commanding brow.”  
Zan snickered as the hover-stretcher moved away. It was a reassuring sound. Frell went to find Rejan.  
“How is Zan?” the Dramok asked as soon as he saw Frell.  
Rejan looked pale but alert. Frell came to sit on the edge of the bed.  
“He’s getting his breaks and some of the internal bruises mended. Fortunately, they have a surgeon on staff who did some work with Kalquorian orthopedics during the war. Looks like they’ll have him fixed up properly in no time. How are you, my Dramok?”  
“I don’t know. Do I look as bad as you?”  
“Oh, much, much worse. But then, my beauty is both timeless and bomb-proof.”  
“Damned Imdiko. Speaking of bomb-proof, has anyone said what happened?”  
Frell shook his head and sighed as dust from his hair snowed down onto his chest. “Nothing yet. But there were a couple of walls left standing, that I could see, and there was no fire.” He grinned. “Our Nobek is second to none in fire-prevention and security.”  
“That’s what troubles me. Zan is so diligent. Obsessive. How did this happen?”  
“Could’ve been a freak accident.”  
“Timing was awfully precise for something random. We’d just walked into the house when the damn thing blew.”  
“I know. Fortunately, we have a decorated pyro-specialist who can do the investigation. Right now, though, we need to just wait and rest while they mend our Nobek.”  
“I suppose.” Rejan scowled. “Did you really tell me to get my sorry ass off the floor back there at the villa?”  
“Sorry about that. That was before I knew your leg was hurt. It got you to wake up and growl at me, though.” He squeezed Rejan’s arm. “I’m glad your injuries weren’t worse.”  
Rejan nodded and his pain-inhibitors kicked in a moment later. His eyes closed and a Plasian nurse quietly scanned his vitals while he slept. Frell limped out to the hallway and found a bench. He sat and lifted his sprained ankle up to rest on it. He’d been lucky. They’d all been lucky not to have been hurt worse, or killed.  
Rejan was right about the timing of the explosion. This wasn’t happenstance. Someone had rigged the villa to blow up while they were inside.  
Who would do that? He could imagine they might have enemies but what could they have done to piss anyone off enough to murder them? Why do it in such an over the top way?  
Tragooms were the ancient enemies of Kalquor, but Tragooms weren’t interested in small, personal assaults, even if they were to sneak onto Plasius. There was no way they might have profited from bombing the villa. Since the war, Earthers had attacked Kalquorians in several places. The defeated planet held them responsible for the fighting, the despoiling of their women, and even their own Armageddon. There were also, as they well knew, racial purists from both sides who thought Earthers and Kalquorians should not interbreed. Any of them might be responsible.  
He watched a Plasian couple wheeling their son down the hall in a colorful old-fashioned cart. The boy was small enough to use one of Frell’s shirts for a tent. He smiled at the threesome and the parents nodded to him. The little boy goggled at the giant as they passed. He was reminded of his nephew, Nen, who was with him the first time he’d met Zan and Rejan. For a moment, when he’d landed on his back from the explosion, Frell had wondered if he might die. In that next, fleeting instant, the thought came to him, entirely unbidden, that what he wanted most in the world was for them to find Bethany and get her pregnant with their clan’s child.  
He shook his head. That was an addled thought, all right. Bethany was long gone and out of their lives.  
Or was she? Did this explosion have anything to do with her?  
He hobbled down to get a drink from the commissary at the end of the hospital wing. It was dark out and the loss of the sun made him miss his clanmates more sharply. Kalquorians were tough, but they were social creatures, even the Nobeks. They might be dwindling in numbers, but they lived their lives in clans and clans created large chains of extended family ties. Clans meant that, generally, no man lived alone, unless he chose to do so. There was always at least one, and usually two, other people in his life, and if he was very fortunate, there might be a third, a Matara. Perhaps even children.  
Frell had never wished to live his life alone. Though he had been clanned for only four years, he had immediately grown to be happiest when he was with his mates. What if he’d lost them today?  
He shook himself. He wasn’t going to go down that path. His clan needed him and he had no intention of letting them go. He opened his com and began to arrange for sleeping mats and other furnishings to be delivered to his studio. He also hired a security specialist to sweep the studio for explosives. He wasn’t taking any chances.  
At least they had somewhere to stay when they left the hospital. He’d do what he could to make it welcoming for the short time they’d be staying. He knew Rejan would want them all on the first transporter back to Kalquor as soon as the doctors released him and Zan for travel.  
#  
A few days later, the clan returned to the ruined villa. Zan had gone in first, and had searched carefully for any signs of unexploded devices or other potential hazards. When he gave the all clear, the others came in, staring about them in awe at the damage to the once-beautiful home. Rejan felt a sickening sadness. This house had been in his family for three generations. It had held, until recently, wonderful memories of vacations and parties. Now it was rubble and filled with bitter pain.  
“I found the two sites where the devices were planted.” He pointed to the missing wall by the kitchen, and the largest hole in the roof. “Neither of them very sophisticated, I think, but damned effective.” He straightened and faced Rejan and Frell. His mouth was a stern, straight line. “I’m sorry, my clanmates. I failed to employ the sweep for new threats for over a week. I let my emotions about Bethany overrule my duty to protect you.  
Frell looked at Rejan. The Dramok nodded.  
“We were all preoccupied, my Nobek. No one could have expected this. Rejan and I cannot blame you.”  
“It’s inexcusable. I failed you.”  
“And you took the brunt of the blast.” Rejan stepped over a broken chair, flinching as his still-healing leg protested. “You will be more careful in future. Right now, tell me about these devices.”  
Zan lifted up a tiny bit of a broken box. “This one would have packed the most punch. If the house hadn’t been strong-built and protected, there would be nothing left but dust.”  
“Why didn’t it destroy this place entirely?” Frell was squatted down, sifting through the remains of a storage cabinet.  
“Because Zan is second to none in fire-prevention.” Rejan pointed to a section of the wall that was leaking a pale-blue fluid. “He injected the walls with his new flame-retardant and the liquid panels also helped diminish the impact. Well done, my Nobek.”  
Zan didn’t look comforted. Rejan knew it would take him some time to forgive himself for what he plainly saw as a lapse in his duties as Nobek of the clan. It didn’t matter that the bomb was entirely unexpected, he would take it hard that his clanmates were injured. He hoped his praise would sink in; Zan had saved their lives by upgrading all the safety measures in the villa. It was a vacation home, not a fortress, nor could it be defended like a fortress, yet he believed they might well be dead now if not for Zan’s preparedness and skill.  
“Let’s go through quickly and see what’s salvageable. Frell, you inventory kitchen and supplies. Zan, I need you to help me find our electronics and other devices. Each of us should look for any personal items we might be able to rescue.”  
They spent a dispiriting hour searching over the house. Because of the proximity to the kitchen explosion, the food supply and cooking materials were mostly trash. The same went for the vid/com station, though Rejan’s personal computer was only slightly damaged. He’d be able to access all their documents and vital files. Zan was sorting through the rubble that used to be the vid/com unit and sat down to study a small scrap of rock-like matter. Rejan came over to look.  
“What’s that?”  
Zan grunted. “Not sure. But it’s not Plasian and it’s not Kalquorian.”  
“How can you tell?”  
“I can’t be sure without testing it, but it’s not like anything I’ve seen before.”  
“Let’s get what’s left and go. The shuttle out to the transporter leaves early tomorrow morning. I want the hell off this planet.”  
“I can tell more about what caused the explosion if I have a couple of days.”  
Rejan studied the mess around them and shook his head. “I don’t think I care anymore. This is my family’s home and I’m going to let them decide what they want to do about it. All I know is I’m never coming back.”  
They were early to meet the shuttle the next day. They were pleased to chat with some other Kalquorians—not a clan—who were boarding with them. They got their meager belongings stowed in the cargo bay, came aboard, and settled in for the the half-day trip up to where the big transporter waited. As Plasius disappeared under its layer of atmospheric clouds, Rejan heaved a sigh of relief and looked around at his clanmates. Frell and Zan didn’t look exactly relieved but he saw that they were at peace with the direction he’d chosen for them all.  
They made the connection and landed in the transporter’s docking bay in good time. They gathered their bags and went aboard. The heights of the ceilings, the proportions of the furniture, the tint and level of the lights on the big ship were all designed with Kalquorian physiques in mind. This time, Rejan noted, all three of them heaved sighs of relief. The villa had been the only place on Plasius where their great size was not an anomaly. Here, they could go through doorways without ducking, could sit on chairs without worrying if they might collapse beneath them. When they passed the commissary and the mess, they smelled Kalquorian spices and meats, liquors and fruits.  
“Ronka!” Frell rolled his eyes. “The way my Nobek father used to make it!”  
Rejan grinned. “Let’s stow our things, check out our quarters and then come down to the lounge for a pitcher of kloq.”  
They got settled in their small but comfortable quarters and Zan submitted impatiently to Frell’s insistence he check his injuries before they went to the lounge. The transporter took off while they were still arguing. Rejan again felt relief, as if they’d escaped from prison.  
The lounge was occupied with several travelers and a few off-duty crewmen when they arrived sometime later. Most were Kalquorian. His clan took seats in a circle around a low table and Frell went to get them drinks at the bar. Rejan smiled as several of the men watched Frell’s progress across the room with open, lusty, admiration. He didn’t mind their stares. He was proud of his handsome mate, and as long as others made no move to touch him, he enjoyed it when other men looked at Frell—and Zan—with desire. He didn’t mind that others knew, as he did, that he was a lucky Dramok to have won both these attractive men as his lifemates. Soon, they’d be back home on their own world, where the bonds of clanship were sacred and respected and understood. It would feel very good indeed.  
“Rejan?”  
He looked up to see a lanky Dramok beaming at him. “Lunt!”  
Rejan rose and embraced his friend. “Zan, Frell, this is Dramok Lunt. His family lived near mine where I grew up and we were good friends. He was ahead of me at school but we were on several teams together. Never failed to have my back!”  
“Never failed to kick your sorry butt.” Lunt clapped Rejan on the shoulder. He bowed to Zan and Frell. “Nobek, Imdiko, I’m pleased to meet you. You have a good man here.”  
“Come, sit. Let me get you a drink.” Frell motioned to the fourth chair in the circle.  
“That’s good of you.” Lunt folded his long body into a seat.  
Lunt’s brows raised as he watched Frell get the renewed attention of the men he passed. He looked back at Rejan and Zan with a cheerful grin. “Finally got your Imdiko, eh?”  
Rejan shrugged, but a smile quirked the corners of his mouth at the man’s appreciative nod. “It took a while to find him, but we make a decent clan. How are your mates doing? Is your Nobek still taking expeditions to the polar moons?”  
“He is. My Imdiko and I have been on a tour of Plasius, mainly the mountain regions, gathering data for a new study I’m doing.”  
Rejan turned to Zan.“Lunt’s a geologist and his Imdiko, Thantajep, is an archeologist. Clatan, their Nobek, is a specialist in arctic travel, hunting, and survival. He’s much sought-after as a guide for scientists, hunters, and tourists.”  
“I think I’ve heard of him. I did some work with a fellow pyro-specialist who studies the challenges of fire-fighting in cold climates. He mentioned Clatan by name. Said he’s one of the best trackers he’d ever seen.”  
Lunt was visibly proud. “Yes. Thantajep and I joke that it’s a good thing we like Clatan because we’ll never be able to hide from him.”  
Frell returned with Lunt’s drink and joined them in the circle. Rejan watched his Imdiko engage with the older man at once and soon had his old friend talking animatedly about his latest project. Zan, too, listened with interest as the scholar described his work and travels.  
Lunt and his clan had met right after they came of age, all three, and they had clanned almost immediately. Many people pronounced them rash and foolish. But those who did had to eat those words as, decades later, Clan Lunt was known among many circles as a unit of unparalleled fidelity, devotion, and harmony. To be in their company and witness their care for each other was to experience serenity, good humor, and open-hearted appreciation of communal life. Rejan wasn’t ashamed to admit that he held Lunt’s example up as an ideal to aim for in his own relationships.  
“And you, Rejan? What were you and your clan doing on Plasius? Wish Thantajep and I’d known you were in the capital these past couple of days while we were waiting for our shuttle.”  
“Frell had a sculpture commissioned by the Saucin. Zan and I came along to help him set it up for the unveiling and to do a little business.”  
“Was yours that magnificent new piece in the central park? By the pond? The one that moves and changes colors in the wind?”  
“It was.” Frell’s eyes dropped to study his mug of kloq.  
“Regard of Flight, that was the name! Thantajep and I thought it was the best thing we’ve seen in years!” He snorted. “Well, the best new thing. Thantajep is hopelessly stuck on antiquities. You’re an excellent sculptor, Imdiko.”  
“Thank you,” Frell said quietly. Rejan wanted to shake him, but he knew his mate was doing his best to accept praise for his work. It was an uphill struggle.  
“Well, our big news is that my clan’s name was chosen in the lottery. As soon as we reach Kalquor, we will have our chance to meet and perhaps clan a Matara.” Lunt’s eyes shone.  
Rejan and his clan uttered their congratulations. Rejan was sincere in his happiness for his friend. But there was a hollow feeling inside him as he saw the hope and excitement in Lunt’s face. Would some perfidious Earther trash this man’s kindly heart and wreak havoc in his clan? Any Matara, from any planet, would be lucky to find a place with Clan Lunt. Whoever she might be, Rejan hoped she would prove worthy of these good men.  
“I did a little work on Earth, you know. Before the war,” Lunt was telling the others. “I was in the Appalachian Mountains. Beautiful place. My team actually had some contact with the people. They were shy but very interesting and not at all violent toward us.”  
“You did geological studies on Earth?” Zan slid forward in his seat.  
“I did. Along with a chemical analyst and a biologist. We took many samples. Over ninety percent of the surface of Earth seems to be silica, which is not unlike Kalquor.”  
Zan rose and gave a short bow. “If you’ll excuse me. I must see to something.”  
Rejan’s mouth almost fell open as the Nobek strode out of the room without another word. Zan wasn’t very talkative as a rule, but he was seldom rude. He also knew to ask his Dramok’s permission to leave on his own.  
Frell caught his eye. He gave the Imdiko a slight nod.  
“Lunt, I hope to see you and Thantajep again soon.” Frell rose gracefully and bowed to the geologist. “I need to see if my Nobek is ailing. Will you forgive me?”  
“Of course.”  
And then Frell was gone, leaving Rejan non-plussed as his old friend gazed at him in mild bewilderment.  
#  
Frell found Zan sitting on the edge of their sleeping mat, holding a small rock in his hand. He crossed to him and leaned against the wall.  
“Want to tell me what that was all about?”  
Zan kept turning the rock over in his hands. He was studying it like it was a fascinating new species of insect. Frell recognized it.  
“Is that the rock you found in the remains of the villa?”  
Frell dropped down at Zan’s side. He held out his hand, but Zan shook his head. “I don’t want you or Rejan to touch it until I know what it is.”  
“But you’ve handled it. And we were in the room when you found it.”  
“It’s still my job to protect you from any harmful properties it might have. I already failed you in that explosion.” He took a metal box off the floor and hid the rock inside, snapping the lip tight.  
Frell was about to protest when the door to their quarters slid open and Rejan stepped in, scowling. “What the hell happened back in the lounge? Zan, why did you run off?”  
“I’m sorry, my Dramok. I know it wasn’t polite. I apologize and I’ll make amends to Dramok Lunt. I will accept your discipline.”  
“What’s in the box?” Rejan squatted before the pair on the edge of the sleeping mat.  
“It’s that rock I found at the villa. At least, I think it might be a rock. I’m not sure. It doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen before.”  
“Let me see.”  
Zan showed him quickly. “My Dramok, I know I was rude to Lunt. But it came to me when he was talking about Earth geology. This rock could be something from that place.”  
Rejan’s face darkened. “Then get rid of it.” He rose and began to stalk from the room. Frell grabbed his arm. “Wait, Rejan. I think I know what Zan wants.”  
Rejan shot Zan a glance. “What?”  
“I want to ask your friend if he will examine this rock.”  
“Ah.” Rejan leaned against the wall. “You think it was part of the device that blew up our villa?”  
“Perhaps. Or perhaps something that someone dropped at the site while rigging up the device.”  
“Who? We don’t even know how they got into our house.”  
“We had workers coming and going while we were building the greenhouse.” Frell spread his hands. “Any of them could have brought it in.”  
“None of them were Earthers.”  
“No, but they might have managed to breach the house while we were occupied. Planted it while we were outside, working with the others.” Frell’s face was cautiously excited. “I want to know more. I trust our Nobek to be onto something here.”  
Rejan studied them both for a long moment. Then, he tapped his com unit and spoke.  
“Lunt? I’m sorry we rushed away, but something has come up. I wonder if my clan might meet with you. We need your expertise.”  
Lunt’s voice spoke through the com’s small speaker. “I’d be happy to help. Thantajep and I would be glad to have you come to our quarters within the hour.”  
“Many thanks, my old friend. We’ll be there.”  
A short time later, they were in Lunt’s quarters. Imdiko Thantajep was stockier and not as handsome as Lunt but his air of serenity and grace were welcoming and soothing to Frell’s jangled feelings. The other Imdiko quietly placed food and drink on the table before them and sat to listen to what Zan had to say.  
“So, you think this might be an Earth mineral?” Lunt pointed to the box. “May I see it?”  
“Do you believe it’s safe?” Rejan asked.  
“If it was overtly dangerous, the ship’s scans would have picked it up before you were even on board. Thantajep, would you bring me my field instrument case?”  
The Imdiko nodded and left the room. While he was gone, Zan handed over the box and Lunt lifted the lid. His eyebrows rose as he lifted out the stone. “Likely not Plasian.”  
“How can you tell?” Frell asked.  
“It’s more silica-based than most of Plasius. I’ll need to run some spectroscopy tests and introduce certain compounds and observe their effects.”  
Thantajep glided in and set a well-traveled metal case on the table. Lunt smiled at him and the Imdiko nodded. Frell liked the simple interplay. The two hadn’t said a word but Thank you and You’re welcome were very clearly expressed. Would he and his clanmates ever reach such easy accord?  
Lunt opened his case and lifted out several instruments. In a twinkling, he’d pared a paper-thin slice of the rock and began to put it to several tests.  
Frell watched the process for a while, then glanced around at the men in the room. His clanmates looked intent. Lunt was a study in careful, but practiced observation. When his gaze fell on Thantajep, he almost startled. The Imdiko’s serene face had suddenly paled. He murmured something about refreshing their drinks and rose to go into the galley. Frell watched him go, then caught Rejan’s eye. He lifted his brows and tipped his head ever so slightly toward where the other man had gone. Rejan returned a fractional nod. Frell rose.  
“With your permission, my Dramok, Dramok Lunt, I’ll go help your Imdiko with serving.”  
Lunt nodded. Rejan and Zan hardly noticed as Frell left the room.  
When he came around the divider into the tiny kitchen, Frell saw Thantajep standing at the counter. He noted the way the silent Imdiko’s shoulders quivered for a moment before it was clear he realized Frell was in the room.  
Frell’s voice was very soft. “You’re an Empath, aren’t you?”  
The other man turned to him. The serenity of his face was still there, but it was overlaid with a twisted mask of grief. A few tears glistened on his cheeks.  
On Kalquor, Empaths were very rare, and when the trait did surface, it was almost always in the Imdiko breed. It made them more than usually sensitive to the feelings of others, to the point where some of them could pick up even subtle emotions from strangers and sometimes even from objects or spaces. For some, the constant bombardment of feelings around them could become torture and some of them went mad from it. Others became recluses, withdrawing from the pain of the world. Frell was sorry to see Thantajep grieving but he wondered what had so moved Lunt’s clanmate.  
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to give offense, so I came in here.” The other Imdiko bowed. “My gift can be embarrassing at times, especially if others are not prepared.”  
Frell nodded, his heart beating faster. “You have sensed something about my clan?”  
Thantajep looked at the floor. “It may be nothing. Something passing.”  
Frell stepped closer and lowered his voice. “You are in pain, Thantajep. I know that it helps to share what you’re feeling, especially for Empaths.” He tilted his head. “Let me help you.”  
Thantajep drew himself up and took a deep breath. “There is great suffering in your clan, Imdiko Frell.”  
“Yes. We have recently had some very painful events in our lives. We are going home and leaving them behind.”  
Thantajep gazed on him, then nodded. “I hope you can find peace.” He closed his mouth as if he would say more but couldn’t.  
Frell felt a shiver race up his spine. “There’s something else?”  
“That rock. The one Lunt is examining. It is very, very dark. Terrible anger. Joy at the suffering of others. Viciousness.”  
“Do you know what the rock is?”  
Thantajep shook his head. “I do not. My Dramok will discover that. All I know is that it is part of something furious. Something that wants—or wanted—to see your clan erased. To silence you.”  
Frell studied the Imdiko’s kindly, anguished face. “My Nobek found it in the wreckage of our villa on Plasius. Someone planted a bomb, maybe more than one, in the house and it blew up around us.”  
Thantajep did not looked shocked. “I was afraid it was something as bad as that. I’m glad your clan survived. But I feel...”  
“Feel?” Frell frowned. “What?”  
The other man shook his head. “I don’t like to say. You are a guest in our quarters and your Dramok is an old friend.”  
Frell gave a short laugh. “Don’t worry. Nothing you say can surprise me right now. I know you are being polite. But if there is something you know that can help me, I need to hear it. I have my clan’s hearts and spirits in my care, as you well know. I want to be able to help them.”  
Thantajep softened. “I know what it is to struggle to help your clan. Dramoks and Nobeks aren’t always the most forthcoming or cooperative.” His faint smile was gentle.  
Frell grinned. “Tell me about it. Rejan and Zan and I haven’t been clanned very long. I’m still finding my way as their Imdiko.”  
“Your clan will be fine, if you can weather this storm. The adoration I feel in each of you for your mates is deep and powerful. A delight to sense.”  
“But you also sense a storm.”  
He nodded. “A storm of feelings that tangles around all of you. Deep hurt. Dashed hopes. Yearning. Loss and grief. Guilt. Even some resentment and blame. All of this was very powerful for me.” He looked apologetic. “I hope I’m not overstepping.”  
Frell shook his head. “Not at all. I’m grateful to have someone see what I’ve been seeing. And feeling.” He glanced out toward the other room, then turned back. “My clan and I fell in love with an Earther woman. We had hoped to make her our Matara and we thought that was what she wanted, as well. Then, not too long ago, we received word that she’d suddenly married an Earther and gone off with him.”  
Thantajep looked stricken. “How completely rotten.” His eyes were both sad and indignant. He softened again. “But there is confusion and doubt in you, Frell.”  
“I’m not sure we know the whole story of why she disappeared.”  
“Do you think it’s connected to this explosion? This rock?”  
Frell nodded. He almost didn’t trust his voice. He’d been keeping these ideas to himself, feeling that they wouldn’t be of any use to his hurting clanmates. Now, telling Thantajep, they came rushing back, stronger than ever.  
“I fear we might have made a mistake. That our sweet Matara didn’t leave us but may instead have been taken.”  
“Purity fanatics?” Thantajep began to pour more drinks as he listened.  
“Possibly. She’d been threatened before but we took care of them with the help of Plasian officials.”  
“These are difficult times for our people. Our greatest hope is in our greatest enemy, never mind the issue of our own biases.” Thantajep was quiet for a long moment. “My clan’s name has come up in the lottery on Kalquor. As soon as we arrive, we’ll have the chance to meet Earther Mataras who want to join with a clan. It’s what we’ve longed for to make our clan complete. We all want children, too.”  
Frell helped place ice around some fruit on a platter. “Rejan says your clan is one he admires deeply. Any Matara would count herself lucky to be your mate.”  
Thantajep looked up at him with a sidelong glance. “Are Earther women as good as we’ve been led to believe? As soft and lovely? I admit I’m very eager to bed one of them.”  
“As you should be.” Frell smiled. “Bethany is the only Earther female I’ve ever been with, but yes, she is the softest, warmest, most desirable female I’ve ever met. She’s kind, too, and smart, and strong.” He cleared his throat. “We thought she was perfect for us.”  
“If this rock you’ve found proves to be from Earth, what will you do?”  
Frell sighed. “I wish I knew. It’s like fighting an unseen enemy.”  
“May I offer advice?”  
“Please.”  
“Do not allow this to divide your clan. Do not dwell on what if or what might have been. Don’t allow these fears or doubts to fester. Ask the questions all of you are asking in your hearts. Share them.”  
Frell nodded. “Thank you. You and Lunt are good friends indeed.”  
They returned to the sitting area as Lunt was placing the rock back into its metal box. They offered the drinks and fruit and took seats to hear what Lunt had found.  
“It is germanium, a mineral that is found only in two places. Ur’lafall, one of the moons of Bi’is, and Earth.”  
“Ur’lafall is a manufacturing base.” Zan frowned. “I don’t even think they use it anymore.”  
“They don’t,” Lunt said. “So, my guess is that this specimen came from Earth, where it has long been used in the making of semi-conductors, and infrared devices. It is sometimes found in old-fashioned optical fibers and last century weapons. It’s also a substance they use in making computers, transmitters, com devices.”  
“Any one of those could be incorporated into an explosive device.” Zan looked both troubled and satisfied. Frell’s Nobek liked solid facts.  
“They could. I hope they wouldn’t be, but I know Earthers aren’t always the most reasonable species.”  
Frell stole a glance at Thantajep. The Imdiko’s face was once again smooth and serene. He felt relief. The storm had passed, at least for now.  
“We have taken up enough of your time, Lunt.” Rejan got to his feet. “Thank you very much.”  
Lunt eyed him sharply, then nodded. “You’re welcome, but I hope one day soon you’ll explain what this is all about?”  
Rejan smiled at his old friend. “I’ll do my best. Right now, I’m not sure myself.”  
They said goodbye after extending an invitation for the pair to dine with them soon. They returned to their quarters where they all took seats around their own table and looked at one another in concern.  
Zan spoke first. “I think we need to learn more about Earthers and their explosives. I have a contact who’s a weapons commander aboard a battlecruiser.” He gave a small chuckle. “He served in the war with Earth and his hobby is blowing things up. I’ll com him right away.”  
“I want to learn more about the activities of the purity factions on Earth and on Kalquor. Not to mention Plasius.” Rejan reached for his tablet. “There may be more up to date information in the ship’s archives.”  
Frell was silent. Should he tell them what he and Thantajep discussed? Or was it too soon to say he feared they’d misjudged? But if he didn’t, and Bethany was in danger, could he ever forgive himself for not pressing the matter with his clan?  
He decided to wait. They were all focused on one thing, together. That was good enough for now.  
He prepared a quick meal and while it was heating, he took out his tablet. He went through several files and came across the vid that Bethany had sent, the one in which she announced her marriage. Though it hurt, he ran it and listened and watched the message that had detonated pain directly into the peace of his clan.  
Next time you share a glass of leshella, think of me and the larks we had.  
Frell snorted. Leshella, right. Bethany hated leshella. Why would she say such a thing? He scowled. Larks. He’d never heard Bethany use that word. He called up his Earther English dictionary and found the word.  
“‘Any of various chiefly Old World birds of the family Alaudidae, especially the skylark, having a sustained, melodious song. Or, a carefree or spirited adventure. A singer. A female proper name.’”  
Larks. Leshella.  
“Rejan! Zan! I need you to come and look at this!”


	2. Chapter One, Two, and Three

ALIEN HEART  
Based on the clans of Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Part II, Chapter 2

Bethany nursed her split lip and fought back tears. She was still incensed at being forced to make that bullshit vid with Jeremy Stuart. Jeremy. Right. His real name was Mike and he was part of this posse who’d come to Plasius to round up “stray” Mataras. Bounty-hunters. She’d slammed her fist into his miserable face once he’d clicked off the vid recorder. He’d paid her back in spades. But at least little Denise, Lydia’s shop clerk, had been released. They’d been holding her and torturing her all the while that Bethany was making the vid. They’d known she’d do what they said, in order to protect the younger girl.  
“You’ve got to stop beating up on these guys,” Lydia said, clucking over Bethany’s injuries. “I’m afraid they’re going to lose it and do something heinous to you, girl.”  
“That was the cruelest, most vicious thing anyone could ever do to me! To my clan! They might have been less hurt if he’d just told them I was dead. Ow! Dang, that stings.”  
“I know. Sorry. But it’s all we’ve got.” Lydia finished washing the cut and placed some industrial tape over it to hold it shut. “I think it won’t be too long before we reach Earth. Who knew these jerks could steal a Kalquorian speedship?”  
“It’s how they got out of port in Minishan. Once they were in the air, they could bypass the capital and just haul ass for the rock.”  
They heard singing and grinned at one another. The women in the cell across the way were harmonizing on a Plasian folk song, an ode to the joys of sex, of course. They knew it would piss off their guards, but they also knew they were two of the most valuable women on the ship. Rainey was a former rebel leader, who’d escaped the arm of Earth’s law by stowing away in a cargo ship to Plasius. She’d be wanted by Gov types looking to punish her, to show Earth that they still had power over sinful women who dared stand up to them. Georgette was the most beautiful woman Bethany had ever seen, with deep, blue-black hair, pale ivory skin, and startlingly blue eyes. She had the figure of a temple goddess and the Earthers drooled every time she came into their view. She would bring an astronomical price on the market where these animals traded. Her fate might prove to be benign, if some halfway decent man bid enough for her. More likely, she would go to another animal, half mad with the destruction of the home planet, who would take out his rage on her lovely body. Rainey and Georgette’s singing was the equivalent of whistling into the wind, but it gave heart to all the Earther women just the same.   
“I overheard Ugly Ed and Dickhead Dan say they’re coming in over desert. If they’re from the North American Bloc, like they sound, that makes it somewhere out west. We know Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas are all rubble. Dallas is such a hotspot, it’s a no-fly zone by popular acclaim, I’ve heard.”  
“That could put us anywhere in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California, I think. What about some of those weird places around the deserts in California? Or the Central Valley? There weren’t many big cities there, so they might have been spared.”  
“Fresno? Bakersfield? Barstow?” Bethany shook her head.  
Lydia snorted. “Yeah, who’d have imagined those places’d turn into the last best hope for Californians?”  
“Still, it’s not a bad guess. Isolation. Lower populations out in the rural areas means there are probably fewer gangs roaming about. Guys who can afford to shuttle in would have no problem there.”  
“So, let’s say we come into, I don’t know, Fresno. What’s nearby?”  
Bethany felt an odd sensation in her chest. “The Sierras.”  
“The mountains? Oh, wow. That’s a big area. A girl could get lost there.”  
They looked at each other and started to smile. Bethany held up her hand. “Wait. We can’t get ahead of ourselves. We still don’t know where we’ll land or how we’ll get out. But, if our guess is right and we can light out for the hills, somehow, that’s the way to go.”  
“I understand there are a lot of evacuation and rescue stations on Earth. There’s not much time left to get people off the planet. Do you think there will be one in California?”  
“I think it’s a good bet. But first, let’s make sure we can get away from these rat bastards.”  
“Right-oh.”  
The other women started singing old Earther pop songs from before the Government banned all but religious-themed, state-approved music. Georgette had a voice like torch singer and Rainey had a tender soprano. Somehow, the combination sounded just fine.   
“Shut the fuck up, bitches!” howled one of the guards.   
Lydia tisked. “Such language.”   
Bethany frowned. “I don’t know. I wonder if we shouldn’t be more cooperative. Lull them into thinking they’ve cowed us.”  
“They’d never believe it. Not after the way you and Rainey have fought them. And that other girl, the one from Minishan. Aisha. She’s a tiger. I think they’d be suspicious.”  
“You’re probably right. I--”  
“All right, Ma-ta-rahs, time to shut up and eat.” Ugly Ed banged open their door and barged in, carrying two plates of burnt beans and franks.   
Still can’t manage the Kalquorian cooker, can you, Ed, Bethany thought as she looked at the unappetizing mess. Too advanced for a Cro-Magnon like you.  
Her heart ached for her men. Her clan. No, she wasn’t their Matara, but she didn’t care about that any more. They were her clan. She just wanted to see them, hear them. To say she loved them, even if they didn’t love her in return. If she never saw them again, they would forever be the clan of her heart.  
#  
The Office of Records in Minishan was a low building with ornate windows and doors. Here and there, Plasian security officers, more decorative than dangerous, strolled along the walkway.   
The clan waited for a few moments, then a pair of twin Plasians approached. The two men wore small silver badges that identified them as archivists.   
“Dramok. Nobek. Imdiko. How may we be of assistance?”   
Rejan and his clan bowed. “We were told we might find a record of a recent marriage that took place here in Minishan. One of the parties was a friend of ours.”  
The first twin pursed his lips. “Such records are sealed. They are a private matter between the state and the individuals who have married.”  
“You understand that we are not permitted to share them unless you have a writ of law.” The second twin nodded officiously.  
“Of course.” Rejan bowed again. “Your diligence is much respected. But we are concerned about our friend. We don’t know whom she married or where she’s gone.”  
“The Saucin advised us to come here, as did her consort, Colonel Carter,” Frell put in.  
Twin Two was eyeing Zan. Rejan suppressed a smile. Usually, his Imdiko who was the one attracting sexual attention. The top of the Plasian’s head did not reach the middle of Zan’s chest, yet that had never discouraged an amorous Plasian. Twin Two turned to Rejan.  
“Perhaps we could come to some sort of arrangement, Dramok.”   
Rejan nodded. “We would count it a signal favor. What do you need from us?”  
They were ushered to a work desk and the twins entered Bethany’s name into the computer. Sheaves of virtual documents, all marked Confidential, appeared in the air.  
“She worked in Earth Ambassador Martin’s office before it was closed.” Frell pointed to the red files. “Likely those are still classified. That’s as it should be.”  
“We have no interest in any of those.” Rejan waved a hand. “We only need to know if our friend was recently married.”  
“Let me see.” Twin One tapped in more data, the red files vanished, and several blue files rose. He waved a finger across the array that floated before him, sorting and murmuring under his breath as he worked. He stopped when a green file appeared.   
“Here. Yes. I cannot tell you any details. Excuse me.” Twin Two slipped on special glasses to read the hidden, encrypted data in the file. He studied the document and Rejan saw his glance go to Zan again. He looked a bit more hopeful. That might mean bad news.   
“Your friend was indeed in Minishan. She was married three weeks ago. That is all I am allowed to tell you.”  
“Three weeks.” Zan’s voice sounded hollow as he met Rejan’s eyes.   
“Yes. That is correct.”   
Twin Two slipped off his glasses and shut down the files and the computer. “Does that help you?”  
Rejan inclined his head. “Yes. Thank you. You’ve been very generous.”  
The clan bowed and left. Before they reached the street, Zan halted. “My Dramok. I need to go back. I have one more question.”  
“Go ahead, my Nobek.” Zan turned and was gone in a blur.   
Rejan frowned at Frell. The Imdiko raised a brow. “Zan could break that man’s heart.”   
“Zan’s heart is already in jeopardy.”  
Frell paced away, then back. “What are we looking for, Rejan? Are we looking for confirmation that she abandoned us? That she was swept off her feet by an Earther? Are we worried she’s come to harm? Or that she just wanted to go off on her own? That maybe we pissed her off and she hates us now?”  
“Yes to all of those.”  
Frell bit his lip. “I thought as much. But we know now that she was indeed married here. Three weeks ago! We’ve been so slow!”  
“There was some delay in transmission, perhaps?” Rejan leaned against the sun-warmed wall but the heat did nothing to ease the tension in him.   
The Imdiko shook his head. “Do you think she sent them later so that we couldn’t follow her?” He rubbed his chest. “That idea hurts.”  
“It does.”  
Zan came hurrying back a few minutes later. He did not look happy. “The man she married was this Jeremy Stuart. He gave his location as California, Earth.”  
He stalked away, headed for the shuttles. Rejan hurried after him, Frell at his heels. They climbed into a shuttle and Zan gave directions back to the transport station outside of Minishan.   
“We’re going home?” Frell asked.   
“Yes.”   
Zan settled into his seat and stared out the window. Rejan had never seen his clanmate look so utterly flattened, like he’d had the life-source removed from his body and only the mechanics were still working.   
Frell shot him a glance, telling him he was wondering if they should try to talk to their Nobek. Rejan shook his head. It was too soon. Zan was still processing. If they pressed him, there was no knowing what the hurting warrior might do. Frell nodded in agreement and they rode to the transport in still-heavier silence, all the way back to the capital and their villa, and through the rest of the day.   
Rejan woke in the middle of the night. He started up, knowing he heard a crash. He glanced about, saw Frell staring at him. No Zan. They were out of the bed and racing through the house in a blink.   
The followed the crashing out into the back garden. There, in the moonlight, stood Zan, dressed in formsuit and boots. He was tearing apart the greenhouse with his bare hands.   
“Shit.” Frell started forward.   
Rejan grabbed his arm. “He might not know what he’s doing. He could hurt you without realizing it.”  
“But he’s going to tear himself to bits!” Frell whisper was frantic.   
“Then we’ll take him to a doctor. It might be best if we allow him to finish.”  
Frell stood, eyes wide, watching the Nobek rip out beams, smash glass, tear up walls. Rejan wanted to go to Zan as much as Frell did, but he knew he had to let this run its course. Zan was trying to end the nightmare by destroying this symbol of their love for Bethany and the dreams she had embodied for him. His feelings of love for her were still intact, but now they were linked with shame that he hadn’t been able to keep her for his own. That she betrayed them. If he wasn’t allowed this release, Zan might not be able to keep his control and then he might really get into trouble. Frell paced about, his fists clenched. Rejan stood, trying to stay calm.  
He recalled the day he’d returned to Larke’s house in the Sierras. Zan had caught him before he could run into the clearing and into the house. The huge firefighter had wrestled him to the ground and bitten him, over and over. All the while, Rejan had been screaming, or trying to, with Zan’s hand clamped over his mouth.   
“Be quiet, Dramok. If you go out there, you’ll be killed. There’s nothing you can do!”  
Zan had been right. He’d looked up only seconds later to watch the roof cave in with a roar and a thundering crash. Sparks had flown hundreds of feet in the air, it seemed. Rejan had struggled again and Zan had bitten him again. He began to feel the intoxicant, making him surrender. Still, the Nobek had held him, his grip on him stronger than iron, somehow stronger even than Rejan’s horror and guilt and rage. When he’d succumbed at last to the many bites, Zan had dragged him away. For weeks, the Nobek had allowed him to rampage around the mountains, well away from the murdering villagers who’d torched Larke’s home. Or their Kalquorians superiors, who might well lock Rejan away. He’d known that if he hadn’t, Rejan might have taken his rage elsewhere or turned it upon himself. He’d watched him, stopped him when he went too far and put himself in danger. He’d pinned him and bound him and bitten him when it looked like he was going off the edge. He’d done this for Rejan without really even knowing him, Without thought of repayment or thanks.  
Zan had let him grieve, made it safe for him to go through it. It was a long time before he realized what a gift the Nobek had given him. He’d tried to say thanks, but Zan had waved it away. Rejan tried to remember, every day, to show his appreciation for the quiet giant who’d saved his life. Even now, gratitude filled his chest. Zan was the finest man Rejan had ever met. The best friend he’d ever had. To see him suffer was horrible. Yet, to try to change his clanmate’s feelings was both impossible and wrong. Zan had fallen in love with a female for the first time and now that tender new love was in pieces, like the glass shattering around him. Rejan himself hurt for what Bethany had done to them all. But for Zan, this was his Larke, his burning cabin. He was going to be in pain for a long time. He and Frell must be there for him, be strong for him, regardless of their own hurt and loss.   
“What the hell happened?” Frell growled. “Why would she do this?”  
Rejan shrugged. “I’ve been over and over it in my mind. I have no answers. Only the fact that she did.” He didn’t say what he was suspecting: Despite all her talk about independence and being a proud ex-patriate, Bethany had chosen Earth, in the end.  
More thunderous crashing resounded as Zan tore up the plumbing. By the ancients, it looked like he planned to raze the entire structure and salt the earth beneath.   
Frell stood at his side, shaking. “My poor clanmate. His tender heart. Everything about this is so fucking wrong.”  
“We’ll see him through this. We’ll see each other through.”  
“What about you, my Dramok? Can I do anything for you?”  
Rejan turned to see Frell’s eyes blazing with both pain and caring. To think of others in the midst of his own suffering was typical of the Imdiko. He touched Frell’s shoulder. “Thank you. No. I have—I need—nothing.”  
Zan was running out of things to destroy. He would have to begin hauling away debris if he was going to dig down into the foundation. He stopped at last, panting in the pale light, his face glistening with sweat, his huge chest heaving. He took a heavy beam and with a grunt, swung it out into the darkness beyond the garden. His head tilted back and he howled at the moons, a wounded and enraged beast. He turned and saw them watching him. He snarled, choked, and fled over the wall.   
“Zan, no!”   
Rejan held back Frell once again. “Let him go for now. I don’t think he’s a danger to himself or others.”  
“How do you know that?”  
Rejan felt his stomach drop. “I don’t. I can only hope our Nobek’s good sense triumphs over his need to strike back.”  
Frell stared at the wall. “Where do you think he’s going?”  
“I don’t know. But I do know that we cannot catch him. Not now. He needs to run.”  
Zan had indeed run. Rejan learned later that the Nobek had pelted out of the capital and run all the way to Lake Lemurra. He’d dived in and swum laps the whole length of the huge lake until he shivered. Then, he’d run all the way back to the villa, where he’d plunged into the pool and swum laps until he could barely drag his body out of the water. He’d tossed down two strong drinks and passed out on the lounger.   
Rejan was glad to have him home, but his clanmate was so battered and bruised, he looked like he’d gone through battle. Frell managed to slip an injection into him to knock him out for a short while so he could treat the worst of his injuries and give him some nourishment. The tender Imdiko stroked Zan’s forehead and combed out his hair, then braided it again before he walked away to his own room and shut the door.   
Rejan sank onto the chair nearest the lounger. He stared at his friend, his lover, his clanmate and partner. Ten years now, they’d practically been each other’s all in all. They’d been raucously, openly joyous when they’d clanned Frell. All of them had been so happy to have Bethany with them. Her sweetness and tart humor and her delectable little body had filled them with hope and contentment.   
Then she’d turned and blasted them apart. Made them all look and feel like fools.   
It was his fault. He knew better than to trust an Earther—any Earther. They were at best weak or stupid, at worst: murderous and vengeful. He’d let his clan in for this when he’d relented and let his desires and his guilt about his first night with Bethany cloud his reason. He’d allowed a viper in their midst. He’d failed them.  
He got up and strode to the windows, looking out but seeing nothing. One good thing had happened: he’d held back from clanning her. She had no hold on them, no law could make them take her back, if she ever did come back. They would go on with their lives, get past this, and she could rot in the darkest hole of the galaxy for all he cared.   
He heard Zan stir. He looked over at the slumbering warrior. Tomorrow, they would still be grieving. But they’d be one more day away from the hurt. He’d learned that when he’d been recovering from his grief over Larke. Each day was one more step that left it all in the past.   
His clan was his future. They needed to stay together, see each other through. They might need some outside help. Even their good Imdiko couldn’t be expected to help them as much as he might wish; he had his own loss to face.   
As for Zan, well, Zan had always been there for him. That had never wavered. He would be there for Zan. He’d do whatever it took to help his clan.   
He looked away and leaned his forehead against the window. “Whatever it takes.”  
#  
Bethany stood by Mike and watched him try to grasp the directions appearing on the screen in the cockpit. He was a fair pilot but he was no scholar and his knowledge of Kalquorian was nil. She did her best to act casually as she read the words sputtering across the readout. They were nearing Earth. They were heading toward the North American sector, just as they’d thought. But the screen was also telling them that something was wrong. Landing was going to be a bumpy ride, to say the least. Mike might manage to crash this beautiful ship and end them all.  
Still, if they crashed and survived, she and the others might find a way to take advantage and get free. Some way. Somehow.   
She’d heard some low conversation between Dickhead Dave and Rancid Rick, as the women had nicknamed them. They were talking about an auction and how the invitations had all been accepted. They would be in the money in no time. They were also speculating whether they could get away with raping one or more of the women before handing them over to the auctioneers. Their poor little cook and maid of all work had taken to her bed, half-dead with exhaustion from both working for them and servicing them sexually. They were tired of her, anyway. Bethany hoped the woman made it out alive, too. She might be completely indoctrinated, but she didn’t deserve the sort of treatment Mike’s Butthead Brigade dished out daily.   
She glanced at the readout again, trying to find a date. She almost gasped when she saw the data and realized how long they’d been gone. Oh, God. How were her men? Were they truly alive after that explosion? How were they doing? They probably hated her. They’d probably gone back to Kalquor and they’d use her name as a synonym for shit for the rest of their long lives.  
“Oh, this is good!” Ugly Ed came into the cockpit with his com in hand. “Got the feed from our man in the capital on Plasius. It’s better than an old time movie-vid.”   
The men had clustered around and watched avidly, then had all burst out in shouts and laughter. They made Ed play it again, then Mike had taken it and brought it to Bethany.   
“Here, Mah-tah-rah. You are going to love this. Wait’ll you see what’s going on with your clan full of mongrels.”  
He hit the play command again and held it front of her face. Bethany watched with growing horror.  
#  
Rejan was almost finished with his business on Plasius. Zan had hauled away the remains of the greenhouse but he haunted the gardens when he wasn’t running or swimming laps at the lake or working out like a fiend. Rejan couldn’t wait to get off Plasius and head for home. Even by fast transport, it would take months to get to Kalquor but anything was better than hanging around here.  
Zan was quieter, for the most part, but he was eating very little and working himself furiously. He seldom slept the whole night, and he was the last to come to bed and the first to rise. None of them had the heart for sex or even bodily contact. It hurt too much.   
One afternoon, however, Rejan came in from a meeting and heard snarls and sounds of intense, non-erotic pain from the sleeping room. Swiftly, he entered and saw Zan had Frell pressed into the sleeping mat. He was pounding into him from behind and he had his hand wrapped around Frell’s throat, too tightly, Rejan could see. Frell had blood on the corner of his mouth and several serious bites. His eyes were screwed shut, his face ashen. He was going to pass out. Rejan lunged onto the sleeping mat and took hold of Zan’s braid. He yanked hard as he spoke, clearly but not loudly.   
“Zan, let go of Frell, now.”  
Zan obeyed at once. Rejan’s heart thumped. Thank the ancestors Zan could still respond. He didn’t want to fight his Nobek, especially when Zan was roused and in pain.   
Zan stopped pumping at Frell and braced himself on his hands, gasping. The Imdiko fell forward, whooping air into his lungs.   
Rejan tugged gently. “Zan, move away.”  
Zan slid out of Frell, threw himself across the mat and sat, bending over the side, chest heaving, shoulders shuddering. Rejan checked Frell.   
“I’m all right. He surprised me. He—I thought—” Frell fought to speak through his sore throat. “Please, Rejan. I don’t want to lose him.”  
Rejan squeezed his shoulder. “Can you hold on for a moment? I’ll be back to help.”  
Frell nodded and dipped back down into the bedding. Rejan winced at the bruises and bites on his back. He got off the bed and went around to stand before Zan.   
“Why did you attack our Imdiko?” He kept his voice as neutral as possible, though he was seething with myriad, towering emotions: fear, fury, pain, grief.  
“I’m sorry, my Dramok.” Zan’s voice was softer and more choked than Frell’s. He pulled himself up stiffly. He snapped to attention. “I hurt Frell. It is unforgivable. I will accept my punishment. Any punishment.”  
“I’ll decide that later. Just tell me what happened.”  
Zan looked more ready to have all his teeth torn out than to talk. Still, he followed Rejan’s order. “I was trying to send a vid to my supervisor. The vid wasn’t cooperating. I got angry and I began to pound on it. Frell came in. He knelt before me. He offered to help. I—I assaulted him. I hit him. Then I dragged him in here and took him against his will.”  
“Is this true, Frell?”  
Frell pulled himself up to a sitting position behind Zan. “Not entirely.” His voice was a weak croak. “He didn’t take me against my will. I wanted to have sex with him. I thought it might help us both. But he changed quickly and he was...rougher than usual.”  
“I hit you. I choked you. I wanted to hurt you.”   
Rejan recognized Zan’s tone. He was being mercilessly honest and hard on himself. Well he might, as he had almost strangled their clanmate to death. If Rejan hadn’t come in when he had, he wasn’t sure what might have happened. But this behavior was so far from the Zan he knew, he could hardly take it in. The sorrow and bewilderment in Frell’s eyes said he felt much the same.   
“Were you angry with Frell?”  
He shook his head. “No. I just wanted to hurt someone. I am sorry. It is unforgivable. I wait for your punishment. Then, I will leave.”  
“Before you go off, you will talk with us.” Rejan pulled a stool over and sat looking at his clanmates. “I want to know what set you off, Zan. Why would you suddenly decide to hurt your Imdiko?”  
His Nobek looked sick. “He was too kind. He saw I was a fool. I lost control.”  
“Did Frell call you a fool?”  
Zan’s eyes were still glassy. “No. He was being too kind.”  
“And his kindness made you feel like a fool?”  
“Yes.”  
Rejan thought he understood. To Zan, Frell’s tenderness had felt like pity. It made him feel weak and vulnerable, two conditions no Nobek tolerated. When added to the hurt and humiliation of Bethany’s betrayal, he’d lost control and used anger and violence to assert his dominance over the Imdiko, to master something in his world. In his pain, he’d forgotten that, for all his saltiness and his own masculine needs, Frell would have readily, even happily submitted to almost anything to help his clanmate feel better; his Nobek had simply to ask for it. Zan could have kept him in bed, in hover cuffs and more, and erotically tormented him for a week and the Imdiko would scarcely have complained. That would be a matter of sexual pleasure and of love and of offering comfort and delight to his mate. But Zan’s attack must have felt like a betrayal to the younger man. Another betrayal in their midst.  
For his part, Frell had used poor judgement in offering gentle treatment to an already angry Zan. The three of them still weren’t familiar enough with each other to know how each of them reacted to an emotional crisis. They’d need to talk about this more. But right now, he needed to tend to Frell’s wounds.   
He rose. “Zan, stay here. I’ll be back soon.”  
He helped Frell off the bed. The Imdiko winced and was unsteady for a moment, then nodded for Rejan to let him go. They went to the bath and Rejan got out the med kit to check him over. He was bruised, inside and out, and there was some tearing, but Rejan could see Frell really didn’t care about his physical wounds. He was working hard to understand his emotions and Zan’s. As he treated his injuries, Rejan knew the Imdiko was more concerned with Zan than with himself. Typical Frell. Talked smart, but in his heart: tender.  
Rejan undressed, then gently took his clanmate into the shower and bathed him. Frell tried to protest, but Rejan just ignored him. When he was finished, he wrapped him in a drying sheet and led the way to the greeting area. He sat the Imdiko on the lounger and made him a strong drink.   
“Stay here and rest. I must speak to Zan before he decides to do something hideous to himself with his blade.”  
Frell looked startled. “He wouldn’t! No, Rejan, I’m all right! Tell him!”  
Rejan nodded. “I know. I will. Thank you for your understanding, my Imdiko.” He found Zan sitting on the sleeping mat, right where he’d left him.   
“How is he?”  
Rejan took the footstool again. “Banged up. Bruised. Torn a little. Couple of bad bites. Nothing too serious. He’s resting.”  
Zan’s eyes were haunted. “I hurt him. I treated him like a slave. Less than a slave. Like an animal.”  
“Let’s not get carried away. You were too hard on him, yes. But you frightened him more than anything else. He didn’t recognize his Nobek.”  
“All he wanted was to be kind. To be himself.”  
“I know. And you were being yourself, a man with a broken heart.”  
Zan’s head dropped. “His heart is broken, too.”  
“Yes. We’re all hurting. What you did was wrong, but it was understandable, at least to me. You’ll have to make amends to Frell and explain to him. But most of all, we need to get the hell off this planet.”  
“You should go. Leave me.”  
Rejan snarled. “Say that again and I’ll start to consider it.” He softened. “There’s no way we’re letting you go. You are ours and we are yours. This was just proof that something bad happened to all of us and we need to stay together and move on together.”  
“I must face punishment.”  
“Stop being such a damned stick-up-the-butt Nobek. I am your Dramok and I’ll punish you when and how I choose, so quit trying to top me!”  
Zan looked startled at the outburst. Rejan saw with relief that some of the life returned to his eyes. He had no desire to punish Zan for his loss of control when he was in such bewildering pain, but he knew he must or the Nobek would feel out of balance and the lesson might not sink in. Although he doubted Zan would forget. Zan loved their Imdiko as much as he did and to have hurt him, the one he was life-sworn to defend and protect, was devastating. Rejan would have to think carefully and devise something appropriate for him, while still focusing on getting over this new attack on his clan’s happiness.   
Later that night, after they’d eaten and rested, Rejan went to his own room and collapsed in the chair. He was so exhausted his hair ached. Tomorrow, he’d gather his mates and they’d make plans to leave Plasius as soon as possible. He’d tell Zan his punishment. They’d agree that when they got home, they’d see how they were doing and if they were still in pain, they’d get clan counseling.   
He drowsed, then wakened and dragged himself down the hall to the sleeping mat. There, for the first time in weeks, his Imdiko and his Nobek were asleep together, Zan’s big body cupping Frell’s, his arm over his chest, protecting him. That Frell would trust their Nobek to shelter him while he slept spoke volumes about both men and the durability of their relationship. Rejan shook his head. Maybe they’d be all right. He stripped and climbed in on the other side of Frell. He sighed and savored the warmth.   
Still, the cold thought came to him: Bethany Corddray Stuart had better never, ever show her face on Kalquor.  
#  
Bethany was going to vomit. She held her stomach and tried to take deep breaths through her nose. Her head spun.  
“Helluva deal, huh?” Mike pinched her breast. “The animals you were fucking are just bits of meat now.”  
He hit the button and the vid he held before her face played again. She shut her eyes but the sounds came out loud and clear. The images were already burned into her mind.   
Rejan, Frell, and Zan were getting out of their shuttle and walking up to the villa. They were so beautiful in the light of a Plasian sunset. They were coming home, perhaps getting ready to have evening meal. Zan would swim laps. Frell would listen to music as he and Rejan cooked. They were together and happy.   
They walked up to the front door and went inside. The door closed and there was silence for a long second. No motion. Then, the entire villa exploded. Flames and debris rocketed toward the sky, while waves of heat shimmered in front of the vid lens. Glass glittered in the light. Wood and tile and plaster rained down. A rolling thunderclap underscored it all. A large section of the villa--the part where the clan most likely had been--had collapsed in on itself. No one could have survived.   
Then, there was silence again. Someone—the one holding the vid she guessed—chuckled. “Boom,” he whispered. The sound of sirens came from the distance. “Well, shit. Time to go.” Another chuckle and the vid went black.  
Mike pinched her breast again. “Open your eyes, Mah-tah-rah.” He shook her.   
“Stop calling me that. I’m not a Matara.”  
“Oh, I bet you are. I understand those animals don’t even have a wedding ceremony. They take a woman they want and she has to live with them in sin.”  
“And blowing up innocent people isn’t a sin?”  
“Them taking our women and brainwashing them and fucking them isn’t?”  
“I wasn’t talking about Kalquorians. I was talking about how Earth blew up its own people.”  
Mike’s face went red. “Those damned giant apes triggered it! No one would have died if the fucking Kalqs had just backed off and left our women alone.” His hand wrapped more tightly on her arm.   
She glared. “Bullshit, Mike. You don’t care about any of that. You’re not interested in protecting women. All you care about is getting money by selling them.”  
He stared, then barked a laugh. “That’s true, you little beast-fucker. But I fought those bastards in the war. They kill and eat their enemies, did you know that? I’ve seen them ripping out men’s throats in hand-to-hand combat, using their damn fangs and drinking their blood. They deserve whatever they get.”  
“You don’t—”  
“Shut the fuck up! You fucked three of the animals at the same time, didn’t you? That’s six cocks, isn’t it? Shit, you’re no better than an animal yourself.”  
“Then maybe you shouldn’t—”  
He slammed his fist into her stomach and she doubled over. He took a fistful of her hair and dragged her off the bridge and down the hall. He came to her door and shoved her inside. He pointed his blaster at Lydia. “Shackle her.”  
Lydia gave Bethany an apologetic glance. Bethany gave her a reassuring nod. When she was done, Bethany sat against the wall, her stomach aching, her head aching, her heart nearly broken. She refused to cry in front of the bastard Earther.   
“See you later, Mah-tah-rah. Hope you’re not hungry ‘cause you’re gonna be missing some meals, bitch.”  
He slammed the door and bolted it. Bethany sagged, holding her stomach.   
“What the hell happened?”  
She looked at her friend and the tears began to well. “They killed them, Lydia. They murdered my clan—”  
She couldn’t go on. She bent over and began to weep, huge, shuddering sobs. She felt as if she could cry until she died. She wanted to die. Her loves! Gone! She’d never see them again. She’d never be able to tell them she loved them.   
She sobbed until her throat closed and she had to wipe her face with the oily cloth Lydia handed to her. The other woman looked at her with tears edging her own eyes.   
“What happened?” she asked again.   
“They h-had a vid.” Bethany stopped, forcing her breath to come more smoothly. “They showed me. They blew up their house. My clan. Blew it up while they were inside.”  
“Oh, Jesus. And they call Kalquorians animals.”  
“Why? Why would they do that? They already had me. My clan never did anything to them!”  
Lydia chewed her lip as she thought. “I think your clan has called attention to themselves.”  
“How? They think I ran off with some Earther guy and got married. They probably think I’m garbage. They’re probably relieved they didn’t clan me.”  
“I doubt that. I saw that Imdiko and that Nobek with you in my shop. They were nuts about you, girlfriend, right from the start. You’ve told me how they came to find you when you ran away from the purity nuts. You said you all were in love.”  
Bethany choked back more tears. “I thought we were. But they never said so. They never asked me to clan with them. I don’t think they wanted me that way.”  
“I don’t know. Remember what I said to you that day at Bliss? Kalquorians are picky. They love sex, but they don’t take a woman home and feed her by hand or chase after her when she freaks out if they aren’t seriously interested.”  
“I’ll never know, now, will I?”  
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry.”  
Bethany wept some more, but she was exhausted. She felt hollowed out, bruised, battered, and defeated. If her lovers were dead, what was the point?  
She hadn’t realized how deeply she loved them. She hadn’t known them that long, but she felt like they were a part of her already. As dear as family, maybe moreso. She’d been looking forward to coming home to them from Minishan, making plans to broach the subject of clanning her. She’d been looking forward to the rest of her life with them. She had wanted to belong to someone at last. Now all that had been taken away.   
She fell into a fitful sleep, her dreams threaded through with repeating images of the villa exploding into the skies. She kept running after her clan, looking for them, but they were nowhere to be found. She woke with a hangover from weeping.  
Lydia tried to get her to take half of her meal, but Bethany refused. She had no appetite.   
“You need it more than I do.”  
Lydia rolled her eyes. “How do you figure that?”   
“What I do isn’t important any more. If they starve me, so what? I have nothing to fight for. But you’re going to need to fight back and help the others, like we planned.”  
“Oh, no you don’t.” Lydia shook a finger in her face. “You don’t get to quit, my friend. You’re in this with all of us and I’m not going to let you give in to these assholes.” Her eyes went suddenly bright. “You know, hon, they made all of us make one of those phony vids, those of us who had any connections left on Plasius.”  
“So?” One more rotten blow against her clan, that vid.  
“So, what if the vid they showed you was a phony, too?”  
Bethany scowled. “Why would they do that? What’s the point?”  
Lydia raised her hands. “Why do they do anything? They’re insane, remember?”  
“They’re insane but they’re motivated by greed. Bastard Mike wants money. He has all the women this ship can carry. We’re well on our way to Earth. Why just keep hammering us?”  
“Because they want to take away our hope. They think if they hit us with crap like that vid that we’ll give up and just be nice little sheep. Their rich clients don’t want uppity females. They want broken ones.” Lydia’s lips quirked. “And you, my friend, are one of the ones who’s given them the most trouble. They must know you’ve become a leader for us. They’re targeting you.”  
Bethany felt a tiny seed of hope returning, becoming a bud within her. “Do you think it was a fake? My men aren’t dead?”  
“Honestly? I’d bet my left boob they’re alive and well.”  
Bethany threw her arms around her. “Oh, God, I hope so. I have to believe that, don’t I?”   
“If you’re going to be any good to yourself, to your clan, and to us, yeah.” Lydia returned her hug.  
Bethany gave a short laugh. “Plus, I don’t want you to lose your left boob.” She gasped. “There’s something I forgot to tell you! When I was on the bridge, I got a look at the controls panel.”  
“Did you find a way to get us out?”  
“No, sorry. But I saw an icon flashing away in one corner. It’s not labeled but when I went flying in a Kalquorian shuttle once, my--Frell told me what the symbol meant. They’re developing serious trouble with their fueling system.”  
Lydia grimaced. “What does that mean?”  
“It means that if they don’t repair it soon, they’re going to crash this bucket.”  
They stared at each other. Bethany shook her head. She knew what Lydia was thinking: if they crashed they might have a chance to escape.   
“I don’t think we can risk it, Lyds.” She scrubbed at her face. “I caught a glimpse of their flight plan and a map and we’re not close enough. If the system fails now, we’ll just die out here with Bastard Mike and the Buttheads.”  
Lydia nodded. “You’re right. Are you going to tell them?”  
“I have to. I can’t let you all die just because these idiots can’t read Kalquorian.”  
“If they can’t read, how will they know how to fix it?”  
“Most onboard systems have vid repair manuals. If they can access those, they can just follow the pretty pictures.” She smiled wryly. “I know it seems like we’re aiding and abetting the enemy but I think I have to tell them.  
“Will they believe you?”  
“I don’t know. All I know is I have to take the chance.”  
Later, when Ugly Ed came to collect Lydia’s plate, Bethany told him she had to talk to Mike. He sneered.   
“Like fun, you do. The skipper’s busy. You just sit tight and don’t mouth off.”  
“You don’t understand. I’ve been in a Kalquorian ship. I saw a light blinking on the bridge today and I know it means trouble if you guys don’t do some repairs right away.”  
“Yeah, like you speak Kalquorian.”  
She fired off a staccato stream of the guttural language. He blinked. “Damn, you sound just like one of those ugly beasts.”  
“Are you going to tell your skipper?”  
He hesitated. “All right. But it’s up to him. If he don’t think you’re legit, you’ll stay right where you are, bitch.”  
“Fine.”  
He left and Bethany blew out a long breath. Lydia had a surprised look on her face.   
“That really was Kalquorian, wasn’t it?”  
“Oh, yeah. I learned at least half of it phonetically but it’s the real deal. It’s an absolutely filthy limerick my Im--Frell taught me. I was rehearsing it so I could unleash it on our Dramok at just the right moment.”  
Her friend snorted. “A dirty limerick from a female to a Dramok? Your Rejan must not be one of those hide-bound stickler types.”  
Bethany grinned. “He can be. But he happened to have clanned a couple of jokers and I, well, I was the perfect ventriloquist’s dummy for them to use to shock Rejan.”  
“Oh man, you have to get back to those guys. They’re gonna be so tickled to hear your adventures with the Butthead Brigade.”  
“I’ll have to tell you the story of the trick Frell and Zan pulled on me when I wore your silk dress for the first time.”  
“Can’t wait. Let’s—”  
The door came open and Bastard Mike, King of the Buttheads, stepped in. His unpleasant, sherry-colored eyes bore into Bethany.   
“You read Kalquorian?”  
Bethany shook her head. “No. But I have been flying with a Kalquorian pilot. A light came on his control panel and he freaked. He shut down almost everything and went to make repairs immediately.”  
“And you saw that light on our control panel?”  
“I did. Your fuel system is failing.”  
“Bullshit.”  
She shrugged. “Don’t believe me, then.”  
“This is a trick.”  
She gave him a pained look. “I have no reason to trick you. I don’t want to die up here with you. You need to find the repair vids and fix it. Skip-Purr.”  
He raised his hand, ready to strike. She lifted her chin and met his eyes. He faltered.   
“Shit. All right, but you better be telling me the truth.”  
“Or what, you’ll sell me into slavery?” Oh Lord, her mouth was going to get her killed. She waited, breath held, as Mike deliberated.  
“Get her loose and down to the bridge.”  
Ugly Ed unlocked her shackles and dragged her out of the room. She stumbled to keep up as he trotted after his leader. They were on the bridge in moments.  
“Cuff her.” Mike waited while Ed bound her. The other crew members on the bridge watched with mild interest. “Show me.”  
She pointed to the squiggle in the bottom right corner that looked a little bit like a sheaf of wheat. “There. That’s the light you don’t want to see. Like I said, when the Kalquorian flyer I was with saw it, he beat feet for the engine compartment.”  
“Rick. Check out that icon. See if you can match it to anything on our system.”  
The co-pilot flashed through vids on the console’s computer. After laboring through the wimpy Earther retrieval and translation process, he located the image.   
“Holy shit, she’s right, Skipper. Means the uptake process is compromised.”  
“Dammit!” Mike pulled himself together. “All right. Get the repair data and get to the engine. Now!”  
He turned to Bethany. “You’re gonna stay right here till we know you’re not bullshitting. If I find out you punked us, I’ll kill you right here on the spot.”   
He shoved her into a chair bolted into the deck and manacled her to it. Bethany just shrugged and watched as the co-pilot searched for an instructional vid. When he had it, it took only a minute before he bolted off the bridge like Tragooms were after him.   
They ignored her for an hour or more. Mike had swiveled her chair so she was facing away from the controls, so she couldn’t see much. But what she could do was hear. Under the noise of the engines, the air system, the talk of the men and the general noises of the ship, she heard a steady stream of Kalquorian pouring very quietly out from a speaker in the panel near her feet.   
She could make out enough to know that the ship was indignant at being hijacked. It had tripped all the silent alarm systems and was broadcasting signals into space, looking to alert anyone who came within hailing distance. She wasn’t sure if it could actually reach all the way back to Kalquor, but what if it could reach Plasius?  
Another reason to hope. She was warmed by Lydia’s words, telling her that she was a leader and the other women were looking to her to help them escape. She wasn’t going to let them down. She had plenty of resources. They would do this.   
If they died trying, then so be it. But she wasn’t just going to give in. She would reason like a Dramok, observe like an Imdiko, and fight like a Nobek.   
In other words, she was going to be one mean Matara.


	3. Chapter Four

ALIEN HEART  
Inspired by the Clans of Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Four

 

Zan studied the vid with drawn brows. “The way she’s playing with her hair isn’t like anything I’ve seen her do before.”  
“You think it means anything?” Rejan leaned over his shoulder, watching the vid stop and go under Zan’s finger.  
“Can’t say. But think about it.” Frell waved a hand at the com unit. “Leshella’s something Bethany hates because it makes her do things against her will, makes her feel helpless. And larks, well, she knows that Larke represents a very bad time for you, Rejan. A time when Earthers destroyed your love.”  
“Great Mother of us all,” Zan rumbled. He felt ice forming in his spine. “She’s trying to tell us she’s doing this against her will. And it involves Earth.”  
Rejan swore comprehensively. “She’s been taken.”  
Zan was out of his chair in a flash. He was packing an instant later.  
“Zan, slow down. We don’t have all the facts.” Rejan stood in the doorway.  
“I don’t care. Bethany’s in danger. She’s been taken. I’m going to find her.”  
“It may be we’re mistaken, so we need to check it out. Just wait long enough so we can find out more about who’s taken her and where.” Frell got out his own packing case, even as he spoke. “We need to contact Plasius and see if any Earther vessels have lifted off with or without filing a flight plan. Or if any ships are missing.”  
Rejan turned and was speaking into his personal com as he went to the other side of the sitting room. Zan stopped packing for the moment. He looked at Frell. “If we’re going to Earth, we need to arrange transport.”  
“True, my Nobek. But what if they didn’t take her to Earth? They might have gone to one of the colonies. Or are still hiding her on Plasius.”  
Zan stopped and stared at him. “Where would you take her if you were those gurlucks?”  
“Honestly, I’m not sure. It would depend on what I intended to do with her. And who I thought might follow me.”  
“And if you knew those who might follow you were blown to bits?”  
Frell nodded. “I see what you mean. We don’t know how long they’ve had her or what they mean to do…” He suddenly choked and covered his face with his hands. “Bethany,” he whispered.  
Zan reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “We will find her and bring her home. I believe—”  
Rejan broke in, his deep voice tight with excitement. “That was the Saucin.”  
“Bethany?” Zan’s look was bright with hope.  
“No. But she reports Carter’s discovered that several other Mataras have vanished from Plasius. All around the time Bethany sent us the vid saying she was getting married.”  
“Shit.” Frell’s handsome face was distorted with fury. “They’re rounding up females like cattle.”  
Rejan nodded. “It might well be. At least two of the fifteen who are missing have their own businesses on Plasius. Most of them were like Bethany and had chosen Plasius as their new home.”  
“What else?” Zan’s face was growing more stern and cold by the instant.  
Rejan shrugged. “They’re not sure. As ever, they can’t tell if this is the work of Earthers or of other groups protesting our mingling with the Mataras. Or other allies of Earth.” He sighed. “The only good news is that we can probably rule out Dantovonian sex slavers. The Dantovonians take every female they can steal. They’ve never been particular about where the females were from.”  
“What do you think we should do, my Dramok?”  
Rejan grimaced. “It’s hard to say, dammit. But my gut says Earth.”  
Zan’s lips peeled back in a snarl. “As does mine. And I believe what Frell said: Bethany’s vid says it’s Earthers who’ve taken her.”  
“Tyler Carter is combing everywhere for information on all ships that have left Plasius since the Mataras began disappearing. That’s a lot of ground to cover but Israla says they’re committed to finding out who’s behind this. She also says she will put all her information at our disposal.”  
“I can’t stand waiting.” Frell paced the room.  
Rejan looked at his com and held up a hand. “Wait. Another message from Plasius.”  
The others watched as he opened the link. They crowded nearer to listen.  
“Dramok Rejan.” Tyler Carter’s face appeared in the small screen. “I know you probably just now received Israla’s com, but I have a little more news for you.”  
The three clanmates exchanged glances as the Earther checked a note.  
“I’ve just confirmed there was a break-in on one of the Earther military ships that were impounded in the capital port less than a month ago. Not much was taken, so they didn’t think too much of it, but from what my source tells me, what went missing was materials that could be used in constructing an explosive or incendiary device.”  
Zan hissed. Frell nodded. “We were targeted.”  
The former soldier looked both angry and apologetic. “I’m going to keep looking into this. I know it doesn’t tell us who has Bethany and the other women, but I thought you’d want to know that whatever took out your villa was more than likely of Earther origin. I hate to say it, but I’m beginning to believe whoever attacked your clan wanted to stop you from going after Bethany.” He paused, then went on, more quietly. “The other women had Plasius in common with Bethany. What they didn’t have in common was a clan. It may have looked to the kidnappers that your clan had made her your Matara. They didn’t want to fuck with the three of you, so they tried to take you out.”  
Zan growled. “Cowards.”  
Frell felt his stomach roll. They’d been viciously duped. Led to doubt their sweet girl. Now she was missing and had been gone for far too long. Was she still safe? Was she alive? He forced himself to be calm as Tyler continued speaking.  
“I know this doesn’t get us too much closer to locating whoever’s behind this. As you know, there are suspects on both sides. Israla and I want you to know that if you wish to return to Plasius and continue searching here, we will send our fastest shuttle out to your transport as soon as you say the word. All our resources are at your service. Bethany is under Israla’s protection and my Saucin does not take that lightly.” The former captain bowed to the screen. “I’ll continue searching. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do.”  
The com ended and the clanmates looked at one another with growing determination.  
“We have to locate the ship that took her.” Rejan’s look was even, sure. “That’s paramount. Otherwise we’re just chasing around the galaxy or around Earth, wasting time.”  
“We need to set out for Earth, though.” Zan’s hands were clenched at his sides. “We’ll keep in contact with both Plasius and Kalquor. We can use their resources to find out about the ship and still be on our way. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is Earther. I trust Bethany’s message.”  
Frell looked to Rejan. The Dramok didn’t need more than a moment to consider the plan. He nodded.  
“I’ll go speak with the captain about transport. Zan, you will contact Kalquor. My Imdiko, will you set up a flight plan extrapolated from this ship’s trajectory to Earth?”  
The three raced to perform their separate tasks. Frell got his path established and typed into his tablet and loaded to all their handheld computers, ready to load online as soon as they had a ship. He could hear Zan in the next room, recording a message to Kalquor. Any reply would be delayed for a number of hours, so it was paramount to get word to them as soon as possible. Rejan returned with the news that a shuttle had been placed into their care with the best wishes of both captain and commander. It was being unloaded and checked and readied for a long flight. It would be ready for a pre-flight check by the clan in another four hours. The door com sounded and Thantajep and Lunt entered. They each carried boxes.  
“We have extra rations left from our field expedition,” Lunt told them. “And some other supplies, as well. It’s a long journey to Earth, but perhaps these supplies will help hold off the need to dock or land in between.”  
Rejan placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Thank you. My clan and I are already in your debt. But how did you know we’re on our way to Earth?”  
Frell looked at the other Imdiko. Thantajep’s face was serene, with no overlay of fear or pain. He breathed deeply as the Empath nodded to him. Lunt spoke.  
“My Imdiko and I discussed things after you left our quarters and we concluded that you would choose to search for your Matara Bethany. I also saw you racing back from the bridge like your ass was on fire, Rejan.” He grinned and then looked very sober. “This is a terrible thing that’s happened to your clan. I will think of you as you go. Anything you need from me or my clan, you have but to ask, my friend.”  
Thantajep smiled softly. He looked to his Dramok, who nodded for him to speak. “There is great love in your clan, Dramok Rejan. Loyalty and a bond forged in both pain and joy. All these things will be your strength in this endeavor. May you find your Matara and complete your clan.”  
Rejan’s face was almost soft as he took in the Imdiko’s words. He bowed deeply. “Thank you for your encouragement, Imdiko. It helps more than you know.”  
Lunt and Thantajep left, and Rejan heaved a deep breath. “We have a long journey ahead of us. We need a meal and some rest. It won’t take us long to pack.”  
They warmed the food that had chilled and ate quickly. The other two helped Frell with the cleaning up, all of them feeling the restless energy in their bodies. Rejan headed for the showers as Zan and Frell finished packing. Zan showered next, while Frell sent copies of their flight plan to the captain and to Carter Tyler. When he was done showering, Frell stood in the doorway to the sleeping room, watching his clanmates in the dim light. He smiled and leaned a shoulder against the door frame.  
Rejan and Zan were wound in each other’s arms, Zan’s long hair loose from its braid and spilling around them both. They had joined their larger sexes and both men gripped both cocks at the same time, their hands between them. Together, they stroked their joined organs in long, hard slides, up and down, their lubricant making for a perfect blend of glide and friction. They lay with their foreheads touching, their breath coming in soft groans.  
Frell knew this particular practice was comfort sex for his clanmates. They knew each other’s bodies almost as well as their own and this simple pleasuring was as much about calming and soothing, releasing tension, as it was about sexual desire. It was a surprisingly egalitarian act, as well, as neither man needed to take a dominant stance. All that mattered was affection and in this case, relief and an easing of stress.  
His Dramok captured Zan’s mouth and kissed him fiercely as their motions became more rapid, hungry. Zan rumbled a growl into Rejan’s mouth and his rhythm stuttered. His powerful buttocks clenched and shoved upward as he released into their combined hands. Rejan was but a second behind, tearing his mouth free to howl his own climax.  
When the pair quieted, they shared a gentle kiss. Frell grinned. Though no one in the clan would ever say such a thing out loud, he knew his Dramok and his Nobek were still deeply in love with each other. It gave him renewed hope for his wounded clan and the love they shared.  
He grabbed a couple of cloths and crawled onto the sleeping mat to join his mates. They grinned at him as he wiped them down, their juices glistening thickly on their chests and stomachs. When he’d finished, Rejan took the cloths, tossed them aside and dragged Frell to the mat, spooning against his back. To Frell’s surprise and pleasure, the Dramok was already rousing again and he was soon happily invaded by Rejan’s slick, heavy thickness. Zan drew close to kiss Frell deeply, then seized both of his cocks in his big hand and began to masturbate him with a steady rhythm to match Rejan’s deep thrusts. Soon, Frell was in a pleasure space that was deep and wide, where only the touch of his clanmates and the sounds of their lovemaking existed. He reached for Zan’s cock and before too long, the three of them shared an explosion of relief, shouting their completion into the warm confines of their little universe.  
When they were at last sated and settled in, Rejan rumbled against Frell’s shoulder.  
“Sleep, my clan. Tomorrow we hunt.”  
Loyalty and a bond forged in pain and joy, Thantajep had said. It was a source of strength they could draw on. That, and their renewed tie with sweet Bethany.  
The clan would be complete, Frell told himself. It had to be. They would find their little love if they had to tear apart the galaxy. She would be with them, cuddled into the center of them, the heart of their existence, and they would never let her go.  
He was Imdiko, but his resolve was as steely as any Nobek’s. Whoever had taken their female and threatened the clan was going to pay a horrible, well-deserved price. He would have no compunction about tasting blood for her sake.  
# 

The days on the ship were long and tedious, marked with the occasional outbursts or anger and torment from the crew or weeping and panic from the captives. Bethany and Lydia had scratched a rough calendar on the wall of their cell and as near as they could figure, they had less than a week before they would reach Earth. Bethany wondered again where they would land and what exactly would happen to them when they arrived. Mike was looking particularly smug of late and she guessed he was feeling like he’d already pulled off a magnificent coup. She intended to see him disappointed.  
Each day, she told herself her beloved clan was alive and well. Whether they came for her or not, whether they hated her or not, all she wanted was for the three to be alive, whole, and together. She had learned a lot during her short stay with them, some of it about them and some about herself. She had learned that three males could bond and love each other and live together, happily. She learned that three males could share one woman without jealousy among them. She knew that Clan Rejar loved each other wholeheartedly, and served each other fully in their respective roles. Rejan would use his sharp mind and strong will to guide them. Frell would cheer them, buoy them up and nurture them in his own, unique way. And Zan--  
She had to pause as tears tried to well up. Her darling Nobek would give his life to protect his clanmates. He smile his brief little smiles. He’d join Frell to play pranks on their Dramok. He’d sail and swim and...she would miss it all.  
She dashed back her tears. No invitations to a pity party had been issued. She’d learned how much she could love. How amazing sex could be with the right partners. That she would always know that she had been loved, even for a short time.  
She’d also learned that nothing was certain. All that anyone had in this life was one moment. Anything could happen in the next moment. She would never take her time for granted, whether her life was long or short.  
That included the time she had with the women on this ship. They were all coping amazingly well, she thought, each in her own characteristic way. Tiny Leela was a writer and she amused them all with her narration of their captivity, painting them all as heroes and the Buttheads as boorish and incapable of finding their own dicks with a flashlight and a map. Georgette would sing and she often hid messages for them in her songs. Rainy inspired. Denise always had a kind word, even when discomfort, hunger, and insecurity frayed the women’s tempers. Lydia was a born planner. She saw the big picture and was quick to present and review options. Bethany grinned. Lydia would make a terrific Dramok, Rainy, a Nobek, and Denise, an Imdiko.  
Sheesh. She’d only been with the Kalquorians a month or so but it had altered her view of the world, hadn’t it? She was seeing things in terms of clan, of breeds, of a shared life.  
She straightened and stretched, preparing for the short recess they were given each day, out in the mess area beyond the bridge. She was sharing a life, now, wasn’t she? She had messages to pass to the others, telling them ways to fight and to get ready when they time came. She wanted to do the best for them, for their sake, and for her honor.  
They were soon rousted from their cells and herded roughly down the corridor toward the mess hall. She passed the signal for everyone to look sharp, to learn as much as possible about their surroundings and the men who held them. Even the smallest detail might offer an advantage.  
They came to the bridge and she slid her eyes to the left to get a look inside without slowing. Suddenly, Lydia stumbled in front of her and went to her knees. Bethany almost went over her hunched form. As she righted herself, Lydia whispered, “Look.” Then Pete the Prick was wading in among the tightly packed throng of females, growling and whining, alternately. Bethany quickly realized Lydia had stopped to give her a chance to take a better look at the cockpit and the navigational console. The other women jostled and exclaimed and clustered around Lydia and Pete, distracting all the guards.  
Talk about living in the moment! Bethany craned her neck and studied every inch of the command center, from the screens and displays with coordinates, to the way Mike and his second in command, Dickhead Dan, were conferring with gleeful expressions. Something was definitely up.  
“Get moving, bitches!”  
She was shoved forward and she had to hop sideways to avoid crashing into the woman closest to her. She went along with the others, her mind whirling as they were herded to their destination. They were released to move about as much as their leg irons would permit. Some of the group began immediately to exercise or do stretches. Others slumped down on the benches, happy to not be on the floor or standing for a change. Bethany walked slowly around the perimeter of the space, processing what she’d seen. She deliberately avoiding speaking with the other women, in case the Buttheads had seen her staring onto the bridge. It was later, when she and Lydia were in their cell after lights out that she told her friend what she’d seen.  
“I think it’s any day now. The map in one corner of the nav display showed Nevada and California. Mike and the Dickhead were looking like cats in cream. So, we could well be coming into the desert, which will be harder for us.”  
She heard Lydia stir in the pitch dark of the cell. “Yeah. But then again, if they’re looking at California, too, what does that mean? They certainly totaled Las Vegas. They might be headed past Nevada and over the mountains. Out to the coast, even.”  
Bethany chewed her lower lip. “I never lived on a coast. Would it be possible to get anywhere by the ocean?” She was reminded again of Zan, but put aside the thought. Stay with the matter at hand, Talcott.  
“Depends on where they land. The California coastline goes on forever and it varies a lot.” Lydia tapped the floor, lightly. “Did you see or hear anything else?”  
“I did, but…”  
“Beths. Don’t hold out on me now.”  
“The ship’s distress call isn’t playing anymore. I don’t know if that means it’s given out, given up, or been disabled.”  
Lydia remained positive. “It could mean the signal was intercepted and so it turned itself off.”  
“Yeah, it could. I hope so. But we don’t know who intercepted it. I don’t know if it’s a signal that only Kalquorian vessels can receive or understand it, or if everyone out there can read it.”  
“Well, we’ve always known we can’t depend on anyone but ourselves, right? I mean, even if the message was received by Kalquorians, how long would it take for them to get to us?”  
“I know--”  
Bethany froze as a stealthy footstep sounded outside their door. She held her breath for a long moment, then spoke more loudly. “And that’s what I’ve always used as a moisturizer. My gran kept bees, you know?”  
“I’ve always been a mudpack girl, myself.” Bethany heard the grim amusement under Lydia’s drawl. “Calistoga mud from up in Northern California. Full of the most fabulous minerals.”  
“Mudpacks, how amazing! Maybe mudpacks with honey would beee good?”  
“Oh, but definitely.”  
Bethany paused, listening carefully. The footsteps moved off. She blew out a soft breath of relief.  
Lydia snickered. “Livin’ on the edge.”  
“Buttheads,” Bethany chortled softly. “Next time let’s talk about menstrual cycles. That should send them running.”  
“Wicked girl.”  
“All right. Let’s get the word to the others first thing tomorrow, while our gracious crew serves us breakfast in bed. Be ready for anything and be ready to fight and run.”  
It was a good thing they employed their code of taps, songs, and pointed insults toward the Buttheads. An hour or less after they’d consumed their pathetic meal, the world began to spin.


	4. Chapter Five

ALIEN HEART  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Five 

 

“The news isn’t good.”   
Rejan looked to his companions. He’d just finished off a com from Carter Tyler. Zan and Frell stared at him, their faces grim. They’d left the transport far behind and were now over halfway to Earth. Rejan chafed at the time it took to get across the galaxy to the doomed planet.   
“What is it?” Frell asked.  
“A distress call was intercepted from a Kalquorian speedship in the Manken sector. The speedship’s messages say it’s been stolen.”  
“These Earthers have one of our speedships?” Zan growled.   
“It’s very likely. That means they really have the jump on us. They were hauling ass and have probably reached Earth by now. Or soon will.” Rejan ran his hand through his already disheveled hair. “We’re losing time.”  
Frell got up and paced, though there wasn’t much room in the small space. “But it’s something. I mean, could it have been stolen by anyone else? Did the ship send out coordinates?”  
“Carter’s seeing that they’re sent to us as soon as the nearest Kalquorian outpost has confirmed them.”  
Zan sat where he was as Frell went to the tiny galley and prepared a meal. Rejan resumed the pilot’s position. Of the three of them, Frell was the most experienced pilot but he’d been in the cockpit night and day since they left the transport. Rejan had ordered him away so he could rest a little and clear his head. Fresh eyes were needed to keep their flying sharp.   
The Dramok knew Frell wasn’t likely to rest. They’d each taken a stim tab several hours ago and as Kalquorians they were naturally able to go without sleep for days at a time. There were a number of days left of flying before they even approached Earth’s quadrant. They’d pored over dispatches from both Kalquor and Tyler Carter, looking for the best places to go in without triggering hostile responses. By the ancients, Rejan wasn’t going to trigger another Armageddon, if he could prevent it. There were Kalquorian strongholds established here and there on Earth, most of them rescue centers to aid evacuation, but he had no clear idea where they were headed and there was no guarantee that the seriously outnumbered Kalquorians on Earth could offer protection for one lone ship on what might prove to be a fool’s errand.   
All they could do now was wait for more information and keep from going crazy speculating what might have happened to their Bethany and where she might be now.   
“She’s alive.”  
Rejan looked at Zan. His Nobek was watching the readouts on the ship’s flight console but he could see the set of his clanmate’s jaw. “I want to believe that, too, my Nobek.”  
“I don’t just want to believe it. I know it.”  
Rejan winced. He simply couldn’t offer up false hope, no matter how much he wished to comfort his mate.   
“How do you know?” Frell asked, handing Rejan a water pouch.   
“I can feel her. I’d know if she was dead.”  
Rejan shot a worried glance at his Imdiko. Was Zan becoming too stressed to be rational?  
“You may be right.” Frell also handed a pouch to Zan. “You and she have always been closest of all of us.”  
Rejan drank his water, watched Zan. Why was Frell humoring him?  
“I love her. She has my heart and my soul. My life was complete when I met her. I knew it that first day.”  
“When you pitched her into that pond?” Frell smiled.   
Zan had the grace to laugh. “Yes. As soon as I saw her, I wanted her. I never wanted a female like that before.”  
“She was very appealing,” Rejan said cautiously.   
“She is appealing. She is my mate.” Zan said it like it was an ordinary fact, like the the suns rose and set each day.   
A blue light blinked on the com unit. Rejan pressed the reception button at once. Carter’s face appeared.   
“Rejan. More news. We’re pretty sure now that the speedship was stolen on Plasius, near Minishan. It’s sending out some very garbled data that we’re receiving here. They’re taking a stupid path, possibly to throw off pursuers or possibly because these assholes don’t know shit about flying a Kalquorian vessel. But it’s going to Earth, Rejan. That much is clear. Your instincts were right.”  
“How long have they been out from Minishan?”   
“Long enough that they might already have reached Earth.”  
Zan swore under his breath. Frell hovered nearby. “Any landing coordinates yet?”  
“They’re working on it. Whoever has the ship may have inadvertently screwed up the system in some way. There was some indication that they had a mishap with the fuel intake mechanism but they managed to fix it.”  
It was Frell who swore this time. “Fuel intake system failure could end them in minutes.”  
“They seem to have resolved the problem. But they may have fucked with navigation in some way.” Carter looked down at something, then leaned in toward the vid. “Just got word all Kalquorian stations on Earth have been notified. As soon as we know where they might have landed, they’ll dispatch help.”  
“Good to know. Anything on why they were taking the Mataras?”  
Carter shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine. This Mike or Jeremy or whoever he is isn’t a big honcho or anything but he’s enough of a pirate to pull off something like this. My guess is his cargo is precious and he’ll defend it to the death. Count on it.”  
“We understand.”  
“That’s all I have for now. You guys have our thoughts.”  
“Thanks.”  
The vid blinked out and the three men regarded one another, faces grim in the green lights of the console.   
“They’d better be ready to defend their fucking cargo to the death,” Rejan snarled. “Because that’s just what I’m bringing.”  
#  
Bethany rolled away from where she’d been tossed against the wall of her cell like rag doll. She hadn’t blanked out, but she was a little stunned.   
“Lyds?”  
“Here, kiddo.”   
Her friend was dragging herself to her feet. The light overhead brightened, then dimmed, brightened, then dimmed. Bethany sat up and gingerly touched her head. No blood but she might have a sizable lump before long. She cocked her head. Something was off--  
“We’re down.”  
“Yeppers. We skidded forever. Felt like we were going to see the Earth up close and real personal before we finally came to a stop.”  
Emergency sirens started to wail at last. The light fluttered, went out. It was quiet. Too quiet.   
“Where are Mike and the others?”  
Lydia huffed in the darkness. “No idea. I can’t believe they crashed this thing. Do you think they...they’re dead?”  
“I wouldn’t count on being that lucky.” Bethany eased to her feet. “But they’re sure not making sure the cargo hasn’t shifted. Let’s try the door.”  
She felt her way along the wall until she came to the handle on the cell-door. She turned it. Still locked. But something else had changed.   
“Lyds. The door-frame’s shifted. Let’s see if we can get it to move.”  
Lydia joined her as Bethany felt all around. Yes! There was a gap below the door itself. On her count, the two of them pressed their hands to the surface of the door and pushed, trying to get it to slide back into its pocket. They cheered softly as things began to give, the door began to slide. It took a lot of huffing and straining, but at last, it was open wide enough for them to slip through.   
“Wait.” Lydia put her hand on Bethany’s arm. “We need to be sure it’s safe to go.”  
Bethany poked her head out just enough to cast a glance up and then down the corridor. She almost jumped back when she saw the figure standing just two doors down. Then she chortled as the dim emergency lights showed the amazing Rainy standing just outside of her own now-open door.   
“Time to go, girlfriends.”  
Bethany squeezed through the opening and went to her. “Have you seen any Buttheads?”  
Rainy pointed up the hall and Bethany saw what she’d missed. It was the one Lydia had dubbed Tony the Turd. He lay sprawled on the floor, still and silent. Near his bleeding head was a large emergency fire-extinguisher that had obviously tumbled off the wall in the crash.   
“Let’s get the others and ditch this trap. We don’t know if it might blow any minute.” Rainy grinned. “Hey, looks like we caught a break.”  
Bethany nodded, but she wasn’t so sure. They didn’t know what was beyond the door at the end of the hall. “Grab anything you can to use as a weapon.”   
Lydia was already relieving Tony of his blaster and the knife in his belt. She tossed the knife to Rainy and hefted the blaster herself. Bethany knelt down and found keys in his pocket. She raced down the hall, unlocking doors as she went. She felt like Santa Claus. The other women came through their doors, timidly at first, then more boldly as they took in the sight of the three other women free and even armed.   
“Remember what we said we’d do if we ever got the chance.” Rainy patted Leela on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, friend. Stick with me and we’ll run ‘em down like tillachats on the plains back on Plasius.”  
Lydia and Bethany led the way to the door and Bethany opened it with the keycard that seemed to operate most of the doors beyond their cargo-cells. It slid aside with a soft, grinding sound and she held her breath, prepared to meet Mike and the crew on the other side.   
But it was still eerily quiet and still under the noise of the sirens. More Buttheads were slumped here and there. Some of them had some hideous injuries, others just looked like they were sleeping. They pressed on, toward the exit that was opposite the bridge.   
It took the combined strength of Lydia, Rainy, and Bethany to get the hatch open, even after they’d located and pressed the hatch control panel. It lifted up with a shriek that made them all jump and look behind them. No one was in pursuit. They tossed the emergency slide out the hatch and it unfurled, filling with air.  
They peered out at the twilight landscape before them. Scrub pines and thick bushes circled the space where the ship had cleared its own, new, landing strip. The air actually smelled clean, with the spice of pine and the scent of the needles and dust on the ground, still warm from the sunshine of the day.   
“I know where we are.”  
Bethany squinted to see Lydia’s face shadows. The other woman’s voice was a breath on the clear air.   
“We’re in the Sierras.” Lydia nodded, squinting. “Just above Oakhurst, maybe?”  
“Near Yosemite?” Georgette asked.   
“Yeah. The southwest entrance to the park would be nearest but it’s a long, long hike. I doubt there’s any park there now. Only chaos in paradise.” Lydia sounded sad at the notion of losing one of Earth’s most precious natural treasures.   
“But there’ll be lots of places to hide the further up we climb?” Rainy was already edging forward, ready to jump to the ground.   
“There will be. A lot of it is still wilderness, amazingly enough. Nobody had paved over it last time I was up here.”  
“Animals?” Leela’s eyes were wide.   
“Lots.” Rainy confirmed. “I came here once with my lover. Mostly deer and squirrels and stuff. But bears, mountain lions, snakes, yeah.” She snickered. “Nothing as bad as Mike and the Buttheads.”  
Bethany looked at Lydia. “I wasn’t much of a Girl Scout, but I think I could make it. If we can get someplace where this com unit I swiped from Tony will work, we might have a chance to signal someone friendly.”  
“I’m game if you are. We’ll have to be smart, though. It’s going to get cold tonight and I can’t be sure how safe the water is to drink.” Lydia turned to the others. “You remember the drill, ladies. Split up into pairs and scatter. Run fast as you can, as far as you can. Keep moving by night, hide out by day.”  
“You’re sure they’re not out there, that this isn’t a trap?” Leela’s voice squeaked a bit.   
Bethany shook her head. “No guarantees. But we have to try.”  
Rainey leaned over Leela’s shoulder. “Yeah. Let’s do this, my friends.”  
Bethany crept forward and sat to slide down and out of the ship. When she reached the bottom, she couldn’t hear anything other than the occasional tick of the damaged engine or creak of the settling wreck. Had everyone been killed in that disastrous, slamming landing? They hadn’t seen all the Brigade on their way out. But they didn’t dare go back. They had to run. If they could reach safety somewhere and there were people willing to help, so be it. Right now, they needed to get away.   
Lydia, Denise, and Leela followed after her, landing at the bottom, crouching down to search around them for danger. Lydia’s blonde brows rose as she looked at Bethany.     
“I don’t know where everyone went. Let’s get going.”  
Lydia was at her side at once. She turned and motioned to the others, pointing in three different directions. They took off at once. The rest of the captives were coming down the slide, fanning out. Satisfied that the others were well on their way, Bethany nodded to Lydia and they moved off, away from the ship, into the darkening landscape. They crouched low, eased out, and were soon enclosed in pines and oaks, rocks and shrubs. As it grew darker, they had to go almost from tree to tree to avoid stumbling into anything. Finally, they came out on a trail and the moon shone down through the small clearing overhead.   
“I say we climb.” Lydia pointed up the trail. “Out of Oakhurst, away from that lodge. I have a sick feeling about this place. Too many lights.”   
Bethany looked over her shoulder at the small twinklings in the distance between the branches.“I agree. I’m guessing that long building was where they were going to auction us off. Lead on.”  
They put on speed as the trail became easier to spot in the risen moonlight. Bethany wondered if the Kalquorians or one of their allies had put up a rescue center anywhere near here. She grinned at the thought of Kalquorians taking over one of the lovely resorts that were strung along the climb up to Yosemite proper. How about Kalquorians in charge of the stunning Ahwanee Lodge in Yosemite Valley or the big old plantation style lodge at Wawona? Big men in the big trees, now that would be a sight.   
She began to flag as the trail steepened. She’d been working out and swimming with Zan and had kept up her running when she was at Minishan, but she didn’t have the kind of endurance required to speed along an ascent that was shoving them more than two thousand feet above sea level. Being confined on the ship for so long hadn’t helped, either, no matter how much she’d tried to maintain some regular exercise. She heard Lydia panting beside her and called a halt.   
“I need a rest and a drink. Do you think we can find water that’s safe?”  
Lydia nodded and pointed. Bethany grinned. A lovely cabin was tucked into a secluded stand of pines. No lights, no smoke from the chimney, no shuttles or other vehicles. It looked deserted.   
“Good eyes. Let’s go.”  
They broke in after they’d carefully scouted the premises and determined no one was around. The cabin had belonged to someone fairly well-off and they found the pantry loaded along with many bottles of fresh water. They ate well, drank deeply, and washed gingerly, not knowing how contaminated the tap water might be. They found clothes in the bedrooms and donned jeans, T-shirts, and hoodies that were close to their sizes. Backpacks hung on pegs just inside the back door. They each took one and stuffed it with as much as they could carry, putting in food, water, and lightweight mylar blankets. Each grabbed a jacket and to their delight, they discovered boots in sizes close to their own. Bethany found matches and a small tin cooking pot, while Lydia coiled some rope and tucked a first aid kit into her back. The packs bulged, but there was no way they could know when another chance like this would come along.   
Lydia snorted as they made ready to go. “So much for haute couture. Nobody would buy a dress from me today.”  
Bethany patted her arm. “You look lovely to me. I’m so glad to have you with me.”  
“Back at ya, girlfriend. What say we blow this pop stand?”  
“You got it.”  
The moon was setting, but they let their eyes adjust to the darkness and returned to the trail. Bethany thought of her clan and their preternatural night vision. She longed to see their plum-colored cat eyes, Zan’s so loving, Frell’s so cheery, Rejan’s so serious and earnest. She might never see them but she was going to recount and treasure every memory she possessed. They’d be evergreen in her heart, for the rest of her life.   
The sky began to pale. They’d made progress but the woods had thickened. Here and there, treacherous little ravines opened up, and snow-melt was rocketing down the mountain in the tracks.   
Bethany wondered if anyone was looking for them by now. Fifteen different women might have gone in fifteen different directions. She hoped they had, for all their sakes, despite how grateful she was for Lydia’s presence with her. Anyone searching would have to divide their forces to hunt for all of them.   
“We probably should take cover.” She paused in the trail. “It’ll be easier to search by daylight. Any ideas?”  
Lydia blew out a breath and scanned the area. “Damned if I know. The best I can think of is to go to ground and cover ourselves with duff. Blend into the landscape. If we get in the shadow of some rocks, we might be able to hole up there.”  
Bethany chewed her lip. “What if they have heat-scanners? They’d know something was down here.”  
Lydia shrugged. “They’ll have to investigate every deer and coyote along the way. They give off heat, too. Those mylar blankets we found are camo-patterned. If we get under those and cover up with branches and dirt and duff, they’ll shield us from heat loss.”  
“Let’s do it.”  
They scrambled to find the right place, off the trail and among some low-growing chinquapin and buckbrush. They scraped and dug hollows in the earth, covered them with the mylar sheets, then grabbed fallen branches and old bracken and piled them over the holes. They poured on more pine needles and other duff and then tried their best to cover up where they’d taken out debris.   
Bethany handed out protein bars and water bottles, which they unwrapped and ate before using the rope to hang their packs well up a tree. They crept into their shelters and settled in for a long, long day. She prayed no humans came along but she knew they also needed to watch out for animals, especially snuffling bears who might catch the scent of their food. She laid her head on her hoodie and closed her eyes, but she couldn’t sleep. Resting would have to be enough.   
She heard animals coming and going throughout the morning. No bears, but she was sure deer and squirrels, perhaps rabbits passed within inches of their hiding place. Birds sang and insects buzzed. It was as if nothing had happened on Earth, as if this were any other day in one of the world’s most beautiful locales. Peaceful. Natural. Untouched. If she didn’t know better, she might believe Armageddon had never happened and this place wasn’t going to be desolated in just a few years’ time.   
But she did know better. She couldn’t help wondering what might have been if the bombs had never gone off. If Kalquor had out and out won the war and were now in charge of Earth. Would Earthers even accept that the coming of the aliens would actually be a liberation?   
Her heart squeezed at the thought of her own Kalquorians. Because of Earth’s fanatical biases and hatreds, her beloved clan might well be dead. And she was lying on the ground, cowering from madmen who would sell her and Lydia and the other women into a nightmare of slavery and degradation. And that was just if they were lucky. Other things that might happen to them were too awful to contemplate.   
She stiffened her spine and gathered her resolve. No way. No way was she going to let them take her or her friend. Not while there was breath left in her body. She’d fight back against the beasts and the buttheads.   
The day wore on and the sun warmed the forest floor. Drowsiness overcame her and she slept.   
She woke at sound of an owl hooting overhead. She froze. Was that a real owl? Or a signal?  
The sound of a deer passing reassured her. The sound of some other animal peeing in the bushes near her feet reassured her further. If there were humans about that the animals perceived as threats, the animals would not be pursuing their normal activities. A mouse squeaked and scurried by, probably trying to escape the hunting owl.   
She cautiously lifted one edge of the blanket and peered out. It was dark already and cooler air rushed into her crawlspace. She began to ease up and out.   
“Lydia.”  
The ground rustled nearby and Lydia crawled out from under her shelter. They stared at each other, blinking. Then, grinning, they looked around them. All seemed peaceful.   
They grabbed food and water and relieved themselves, then packed up quickly and tracked back toward the trail. Lydia stopped short of the path.   
“I don’t feel good about taking a groomed trail,” she said softly.   
“How else can we find our way?”  
She pointed back a ways from where they came. “I heard lots of deer go by. Let’s see if we can find a deer-track going up the mountain. It won’t be as easy going, but far less chance of human traffic.”  
“Let’s go.”  
They went slowly, retracing their steps and sure enough, a narrow path, gently worn, was cut into the undergrowth. They got their bearings and headed upward, east toward the rising moon.   
“If you hear someone coming,” Bethany said as they climbed, “dive for the bushes and stay still.”  
“If there aren’t bushes?”  
“Try to climb a tree?”  
Lydia snickered. “Just hope they don’t show up while we’re in a redwood grove. You gotta have wings to get up those babies.”  
“We’re going to be okay.” Bethany knew she was trying to convince herself as well as Lydia. “I can feel it.”  
A few moments later, they heard the buzzing of a shuttle coming over the ridge.  
#  
Bethany shucked her pack and fled for the trees. She hadn’t waited to see the shuttle come any closer. She’d simply turned and run. She heard Lydia pounding after her and wondered if they should separate, make it harder to pursue them.   
No time to strategize. She just prayed they hadn’t been seen.   
She saw a cluster of oaks ahead and tore in their direction. If she could duck under there, she might crawl into the underbrush beyond and hide from eyes in the air. It would also be far more difficult for any vehicle to land where the trees were so dense and tangled.   
She heard Lydia give a cry and then a thud behind her. She looked back and saw her friend pitch to the ground, grabbing at her ankle.   
“No! Go!” she cried as Bethany turned and raced toward her. “Get away! I’ll head for the bushes!”  
Bethany kept coming. Lydia was sobbing but her words were fierce. “Don’t you dare get caught because of me, damn you! I’ll never forgive you. Run, goddammit!”  
Bethany hesitated, heard the buzz of engines, turned and raced away. There were thick bushes nearby. Lydia would be able to crawl there. If nothing else, she could pull the attention of their pursuers away from Lydia and give her time to get to safety.   
She raced on. Almost there. She was going to make it. No way were these bastards going to catch her again.   
She flung herself in among the oaks like a runner crossing the finish line. She wove in and out in the dimming light, then, blessedly, a huge hedge-like clump of intermingled mountain holly, buckbrush, and a skirting of mountain misery. She was scraped and slapped and cut by the time she reached a spot that seemed deep enough but she didn’t care. She made herself as small as possible, tried desperately to quiet her breathing, and waited.   
Her ears seemed to be buzzing but she knew it was only adrenaline and panic. She remembered the breathing technique Frell had taught her and quietly got her heart to slow and her ears in tune with her surroundings.   
No sounds of engines. No sounds of footsteps. No voices.   
Was Lydia safe?  
She had so hoped they’d be higher up by now and able to find canyons and rock walls and even caves where they might hole up. Much harder to search up above. So many vast uninhabited miles.  
Then she heard the cry. A woman’s cry. Oh, God. Lydia.   
Rough shouts and another shriek, then silence. Bethany shook with fury and fear. What could she do? Could she distract them? Or was she too late?  
Footsteps. Fast. Coming along the path she’d taken into the oaks.   
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.   
#  
“California?”  
Zan and Rejan looked at one another. Zan’s heart leaped. This was a break. He and Rejan knew California well.   
They turned back to the readout that was rolling in from the Kalquorian outpost on LS5. The moon-base there was relaying the coordinates they’d managed to glean from the stolen speedship.   
“Modesto?” Rejan turned to Frell. “Need your hand on the flight-plan, Imdiko.”  
Frell slid into Rejan’s seat and began typing into the ship’s computer. “Mo-des-to, California?”  
“Yes.” He read back the coordinates as Frell’s fingers flew.  
“Got it. Twenty hours, my Dramok.”  
Zan growled but kept his eyes on the controls. They knew where they were going at last. They were that much closer to Bethany. To his Matara.   
His Matara. The words made his heart leap. He yearned to have her in his arms. He vowed he would never let her go again. He’d failed to protect her this time, but that would never, ever happen again. She was his. No matter what Rejan decided about clanning her, he would keep her at his side. He would carry her wherever she wanted to go, he would plant her gardens for her. He would love her until his last breath.   
He would find her.   
“Modesto is in the San Joaquin Valley,” he told Frell. “It’s not far from where I was stationed on Earth. Rejan, too.”  
“It is near the Sierra mountains?” Frell glanced at Rejan. “You know this place?”  
“Small town. Surrounded by farms. Not far from the foothills.” Rejan ran a hand over his stubbled cheek. “Not far from where—”  
He broke off and strode away. Frell looked to Zan, concern in his large eyes. Zan nodded.   
“Yes. Not too far from where Larke lived. We know the area.”  
“Why would these bastards take women there? Is it a special place, this Modesto?”  
“Not when I was there. Who knows what’s changed since Armageddon. The two biggest cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco were blown to bits, as was the the capital city. The farmlands around there will soon be completely poisoned. Modesto is right between those two bigger cities. It could be a place left untouched, so far.”  
“So business might have moved there?”  
Zan grunted. “If you can call it business. I understand the whole structure of Earther society is in ruins. It’s the perfect environment for every scavenger and scum of the planet to crawl out from under their rocks.”  
Frell shivered visibly. Zan knew the Imdiko was fighting against his peaceful inclinations, his horror of violence and death. It was one thing for Zan and Rejan to face a fight. For four years, they had lived with their beloved Frell, whose every thought was for life and joy and peace. To kill or even harm was not part of his nature.   
But as Frell’s face hardened in the green glow of the console, he knew that for their Matara, his Imdiko was ready to take on any enemy and blast them out of existence. This fight might cost him more than either himself or Rejan, but he was in it.   
Zan felt his own spine stiffen. He would live up to the example set by his clanmate. He would be the man Frell--and Bethany--needed him to be.   
Frell called back over his shoulder. “Twenty hours. My Dramok, you should rest. We all need to be ready.”  
“No.”  
Zan suppressed a grin. Frell was fighting a losing battle. None of them were going to rest until they had Bethany with them once again.   
Frell sighed. “Well, will you at least make me something to eat? Something delicious and freeze-dried?”  
Rejan snorted. “I have just the thing. Bywes and crackers.”  
The Imdiko made a gagging sound. “Can’t wait.”  
They flew on, into the blackness.


	5. Chapter Six

ALIEN HEART, Part II  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter 6

 

The footsteps were coming closer. Bethany held her breath, fearing even the slightest sound would alert the hunters to where she was.   
Suddenly, there was a roar and a man’s shriek. What the hell?  
She tried to peer out through the thicket, couldn’t see a thing. She heard snuffling little grunts above her. Moving as carefully as she could, she looked up and saw, up in the nearest oak, two bear cubs, clinging to the branches, their round black eyes fixed on the ground below.   
“Shoot it, Ed!” She heard Dickhead Dan’s whine, now pitched as high as any woman’s. “Get it with the tranks!”  
Now she saw them: Four enormous paws, sporting claws like steak knives, planted directly in front of where Bethany was hidden. Holy shit. The Buttheads had crossed the path of a sow: a very large, female black bear. A mother black bear with young cubs? Only slightly less dangerous than a Tragoom.  
She heard Ugly Ed fumbling and swearing. “It’s stuck goddammit!”  
Dan kept shrieking. “You gotta shoot it, man! Now!”  
“I’m trying! Fuck!”  
The four paws became just two paws. Mama Bear was up on her hind legs and open for business. Another roar echoed through the woods.  
The two Buttheads did the stupidest thing they could ever do in that situation. They turned and ran. The bear was after them in a split second. Bethany heard a shot fired, then a roar, then a huge thump.   
The shrieking was horrible. “Help me! Ed! Ed! Shoot it!”  
There was some sickening, tearing sounds, more shrieking, and then something very heavy hit the ground. Running footsteps raced down the deer track. Bethany heard the snorting, growling sow in hot pursuit.   
“Start the ship! Start the goddamn ship!”   
There was a buzz, then another wailing shriek. The buzz of the shuttle engine rose over the din. Dave’s loyal buddy in the cockpit wasn’t going to wait for him. Dickhead Dave was about to become bear-kill. The shuttle lifted away, leaving the bear to finish off the kidnapper. It was a disgusting, terrifying concerto of shrieks, gurgles, and snarls. Then all was silent.  
Bethany sat, stunned and shaking. The cubs overhead were giving off “where’s mommy?” cries. Oh, please don’t let her come through the bushes to get to them!  
She waited and before too long, the panting, snuffling mother bear came lumbering around the thicket. She went straight to the tree and the cubs tumbled awkwardly down to meet her. It sounded like she gave each of them a cursory lick, then walked away, the two little ones gamboling in her wake.   
Bethany stayed in the thicket for a very long time, until her bladder forced her up and out. She made a pit stop, watching all around, then began to inch through the trees, back toward where Lydia had been hidden. She almost tripped over the body of one of the assholes. It was Ed. She could tell it was him by the blood-stained skull and crossbones on what was left of his shirt. She skirted around him, swallowing hard at the way his throat was...missing.   
Her eyes were adjusted better by the time she came upon Dickhead. There were body parts that had been shorn off and cast away. Gorge rose up but she fought it back. The sight was horrible, but she owed that mama bear a big thank you.   
“Lydia?” she whispered. “Lyds, are you there?”  
There was no answer. She searched but there was nothing, only Lydia’s pack on the ground near where the shuttle had landed.   
They’d taken her friend. She was alone.   
#  
The Kalquorians touched down just east of Modesto, behind a grove of water oaks near a narrow, grungy river. They emerged from the ship armed and wary, Zan in the lead. Frell stayed behind while they did reconnaissance, ready to fly at a moment’s notice. It was also for protection of the ship against encroaching vandals, not that they’d get far with the ship’s shields raised. But Rejan wanted to reserve their power for any other flights they might need to make, as fuel might not be easy to obtain and their onboard stores were limited.  
He watched through the vid wall as his clanmates scouted the area. The little town was dusty and tired-looking though Frell thought it might once have been a nice place to live. No signs of life other than stray animals seemed to be out in the early morning sun, but that didn’t mean there weren’t dangers.   
Frell watched anxiously, aware that every moment might put Bethany out of their reach. His Nobek was still adamant that their little Earther was still alive and Frell didn’t have it in him to contradict him. Hope was a fragile thing, but vital, and he wanted his clanmate to hold fast to it as long as he could. Did he believe Zan had a connection with Bethany that could tell him if she was alive or not? Frell had no idea. But after meeting Thantajep and also knowing his own experiences with sensing what his lifemates were thinking or feeling, he couldn’t dismiss it entirely.  
Rejan, he knew, was not convinced. He believed his usually hard-headed, down to earth Nobek was blinded by love, grasping at straws. Zan had never been in love before and he was, Rejan told Frell, simply hanging on despite any real evidence.   
Did it really matter? Loyalty and a bond forged in both pain and joy. All these things will be your strength in this endeavor. He kept coming back to the Empath’s words to them. Why not lean on love, however blind it might seem?  
He saw Zan and Rejan headed back toward the ship. Zan was watching all around him, scanning the landscape. Rejan was reading from a piece of paper in his hand.   
“My Imdiko, we need to head up into the foothills,” he said to Frell as soon as he and Zan set foot in the ship. His eyes were almost black with anger.  
Frell turned to the console. “Just tell me where.”  
Rejan handed him the paper as Zan closed the doors and made ready for launch. Frell scowled. His spoken English was much stronger than his reading. “Auct-ee-on? Is that like action?”  
Rejan shook his head as he slid into the other pilot’s seat. “Auction. It means a sale. Like when Dantovonians gather slaves and sell them in the marketplace. People make bids and the highest bidder wins the slave.”  
Frell felt ice slither down his spine. “They’re selling Mataras into slavery?”  
“They’re selling them to whoever has the money.”  
“Shit!”  
“The place is called Oakhurst. It’s not too far, especially across country.”  
Frell called up the town and set their course. He glanced at his Nobek when he had the chance. Zan was very still, watching out the vid wall as the hills rose below them. Frell knew that stillness. He’d seen it when Zan had been called out to fight a serious blaze. He was preparing for battle, gathering all his inner forces, steeling himself to meet every challenge.   
Frell looked back at the console. “Ten clicks and we’re there, my Dramok.”  
“Make for the outskirts. A good ways out. We’ll hike in. I don’t want them to see us coming, if at all possible.”  
“What is this place we’re looking for?”  
“An inn or a lodge. I don’t recall it from when I was here, but it calls itself a conference center. The auction is to be tonight.”  
Frell grinned. “I’ve got my credit pass.” He patted a nearby plasma rifle.  
“Just make sure it’s primed and loaded.”  
#  
Bethany sat on the ground and munched a protein bar. She’d combined the supplies in her pack with Lydia’s, then scattered any remaining items far and wide, hoping to confuse whoever might be tracking her. That done, she marched on, moving uphill. In places, the trail began to switchback and she knew she was definitely getting into the high country. There’d been no sign of human life for hours. Evidently Mama Bear had scared the crap out of the shuttle pilot. She just wished he’d let Lydia go. But then, Mama Bear might have attacked her friend, too.   
She tried to recall what Lydia had told her about where they were headed. They’d find a trailhead into the back country when they came to the big trees near Wawona. She’d said that under no circumstances were they to go into the village there. It was bound to be full of squatters and worse, taking over the old cabins and other buildings. They were going to sneak onto the trail at night and climb. She’d had a friend who was a ranger in the park, who manned a station far up in the backcountry. It was a helluva hike, she’d said, but that was good, because most people would be too lazy to try it.   
So, first off, she needed to find these big trees. She’d seen plenty of vids of the giant redwoods and she knew the trees around her, though huge, were not even close to that size. Many sequoias were taller than twenty-story buildings.   
She watched the moon rise and started off. By morning, she was glad to stop and take her bearings, then bury herself into a hole under some bushes, under loose bracken. She fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.   
She woke to the sensation of something crawling over her hand. Something kinda wet and icky. She lifted the edge of her blanket and saw a bright yellow slug inching across her fingers. She bit down on her screech and shook away the little intruder. A banana slug.  
“Not so bad,” she murmured to herself as she crawled out of her hiding spot. “It might have been old Skipper Mikey.”  
“Yeah, it sure might. Mah-tah-rah.”  
Bethany shot off up the trail. She didn’t care where she was headed, just as long as it was away from the man who had somehow tracked her down and was ready to capture her once more. She fled in and out of trees, pounding along the track, dancing and dodging to avoid rocks and fallen branches. Where, oh, where was a mother bear when she needed one?  
Suddenly, she felt a sting in the back of her neck. Oh, no. Oh, no. They’d shot her. Not dead, she knew her luck wasn’t that good. It could only be a trank dart.   
Her conclusion was confirmed when her legs began to feel like they were filled with sawdust and the tree trunks began to waver in front of her eyes. She staggered, fought to keep running, then pitched forward, like a felled tree. Someone kicked her side, hard, but while she could scream, she couldn’t move. Her world went blank.   
#  
The inn at Oakhurst was deserted. However, what the Kalquorians found behind the main lodge told them all they needed to know.   
They approached the wrecked speedship from three different direction, weapons ready. Zan took the main door, where an inflatable emergency slide hung, half-deflated. He had a knife drawn and several others at the ready on his person. Rejan took the loading hatch and Frell mounted a watch at the front, where the viewport over the control console gleamed dully in the sunshine.   
The ship had come down hard and skidded, it looked like, judging from the path that had been torn through the trees and across the ground. There were rips and tears in the hull and cracks in many places. The aft cargo door was half-open. Rejan took his time as he neared the hatch, listening and watching. Security shield weren’t deployed or he would have been sitting on his ass several yards away long before this. No attempt had been made to camouflage the ship or conceal its presence.   
He glanced to see how Zan was doing and saw the Nobek reach for the hidden control panel just outside the entry. The smaller door popped right open and Zan touched the controls to lift the main door. It groaned and hissed but slowly, slowly, began to lift. Rejan reached up and yanked on the cargo hatch.  
Nothing. No one tumbled out, no one was inside. He leaped up, grabbed the edge and swung himself over and in as Zan disappeared into the main cabin. The ship was a large one, with multiple holds that had been blocked in and fitted with heavy doors. He pounded on one, hoping to scare any enemies out of their hiding spots, but there was nothing, again.   
He tried the handle on one and the door swung right open. He peered into the gloom. Shackles. Some sort of bucket for waste products. A discarded metal food plate.   
A delicate silk scarf, printed with flowers and smelling of some sweet perfume. Not Bethany’s scent but a Matara, nonetheless, he’d wager. He growled and carried it out with him. Each door he tried gave up little evidence. The last cell on the right, however, held a scent he knew as well as he knew anything.   
“Zan!”  
Zan’s running feet covered the hall outside in seconds. He ducked and entered the cell, knife at the ready. He halted and froze, breathing in. “Bethany.”  
“She was here, Zan. She was in this hole!”  
Zan sniffed. “Not too long ago, either. She was alive when they crashed this thing.”  
Rejan met Zan’s eyes. Hope returned to his own heart. Their adorable, mean little Matara was on Earth. They were close on her trail.   
“There’s only two men on board, both dead.” Zan glanced around, still on the alert. “I found more blood in spots, not a lot. Probably injuries on impact. They almost drove this bucket into the ground.”  
Rejan was ready for action. “I want you to follow her scent as best you can. See if you can find a direction for her. I’ll go get Frell and we’ll check the lodge.”  
Zan took off at a trot. Rejan and his Imdiko split up and went room by room through the inn. Rejan came to an abrupt halt in one of the larger rooms, obviously a meeting room. There were tables set up and on them lay an array of whips, chains, manacles, electric prods, shock collars, choke collars, floggers, razors, and knives. He moved slowly closer. There were also surgical devices, branding irons, assorted hypo-injection tubes for drugs. Along the walls were cages, most of them too small for even a small Earther female to stand upright. “Filthy animals!”  
He heard a choked cry from behind him and turned to see Frell looking almost white with rage and grief. The Imdiko sank to his knees. “Rejan, what the hell have we done?”  
Rejan strode to him and squatted down. “What do you mean?”  
“We—Bethany—we cuffed her. Paddled her. Tied her.”  
Rejan shook his head. “It’s not the same, Frell.”  
“She must have been so frightened!”  
Rejan shook Frell by the shoulder. “No, dammit. It isn’t the same! We spanked her and restrained her and teased her, yes. But never once did we do anything that our precious girl didn’t approve. We made sure of it, every single time. There is a difference between dominance and torture.”  
“I can’t see it right now.” Frell covered his eyes with his hand.   
“She said yes to all of it, my Imdiko. She was excited by it. And she knew we could be trusted not to hurt her or go too far. She had a safe word, remember?”  
A snicker burst from his clanmate. “Bird poop!”  
Rejan laughed. “Exactly. What Matara, in fear for her safety, for her life, chooses a something like “bird poop” as a safe word? None of these bastards would have even suggested she have a safe word. They couldn’t give one single shit about these women’s safety or their feelings.” He shook his head. “We never did what these gurlucks obviously had planned. We would never cut into our sweet girl’s flesh. Never harm her with a cattle prod. Never mutilate or brand her or fill her full of drugs. Never put her in a cage.”  
Frell uncovered his eyes and drew a long breath. “Never take away her freedom or her choices.”  
“Never. Do you remember what happened the first time Zane cuffed her?”  
Frell barked a laugh. “Our big, bad Nobek couldn’t stand how rough the leather looked on her. He went out and bought a box full of silk scarves to use as restraints.”  
“Islinn silk. With flowers on them.” Rejan was grinning now.   
“Our Matara grabbed them, laughing, and made him chase her, naked, all over the villa and out to the back yard.” Frell’s eyes softened. “Her giggles always make me hard.”  
“Exactly. She was giggling. When Zan caught her, he spanked her adorable ass--which made her as wet as a river--then tied her to a padded bench, and licked her sweet little pussy until she screamed in delight. Then he fucked her until they both found bliss.”  
“And afterward, when he cuddled her on his lap on the lounger, she tied those flowery scarves around his wrists in big, floppy bows, then fell asleep in his arms.” Frell snorted. “Zan--our Nobek!--wore the damn things for an hour while she slept because he didn’t want to disturb her.”  
“Oh, yes, our Bethany has been terrorized by us. Shit, Frell, she owns us. If anyone is enslaved, it’s us.” Rejan stood. He pointed to the tables. “This collection of misery is not about what we do when we love our Matara. This is torture and death.”  
“Yes. You’re right. It’s just that…” Frell stood and looked around, his brows drawing down. His words slowed. “There’s a lot here, my Dramok.”  
“Yes, the assholes were prepared.”  
“No, I mean, it looks like none of it has been used.”  
Rejan stared at the tables. “Damn. You’re right. Suns, Frell, they never got to their auction. Something happened to halt them before they ever got the chance to use any of this crap.”  
They looked at each other with wide eyes. Rejan nodded. “Let’s finish our search.”  
There was no scent of Bethany anywhere else, but they found evidence of someone having raided the kitchen and a little hair clasp on the floor that had been carved from a strylisk pod. A pod that only grew on Plasius, as far as Rejan knew.   
Frell was almost humming with anticipation. Rejan felt a similar electric current within himself. They trotted outside and met Zan at the edge of the compound. He doubled back to join them.   
“She got out.”  
Rejan wanted to shout for joy. But they still had a long way to go before they found her, he sensed. He reined in his excitement. Zan looked like a hunting eagle, eyes sharp and hooded against the sun.  
“How shall we go?” Rejan asked his Nobek.   
“I can’t say for sure. There were some other shuttles here. But I’m certain Bethany left here on foot.”  
Frell grinned. “She’s still standing.”  
“I think she was running. And someone was with her. Another female.”  
“We saw signs that other Mataras were inside the lodge. It looks like they took food and water.” Rejan rubbed his chin. “I hope that means more of them escaped.”  
“What do you say, my Nobek?” Frell was rocking on the balls of his feet. “Over land or over the treetops? We have the small shuttle on board our ship still. It might go faster. And it’s nimbler.”  
“I can’t track her scent if I’m above. Let me have a head start. Then track me from above. Keep an eye out for the bastards who took her. They still might be on her trail.”  
“Got it.”  
They raced back to their ship and Zan made ready to hunt. Rejan clasped his arm, briefly, as he went to the door. They stared at each other for a long moment.  
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, use your damn words.”   
The other two looked at Frell and then burst out laughing. “You sound just like her!” Rejan shook his head.   
“If you won’t say it, I will.” Frell advanced on Zan. “Be careful, my clanmate. I need you and I need Bethany.”  
Zan gave him a sharp nod and one of his flashing, tiny smiles. Then he was gone.   
“Let’s get to work. We need to be ready as soon as Zan coms us.”   
Frell dashed to the console and ran a quick check over the instruments. Rejan couldn’t help the buoyant feeling that was rising inside him. Bethany was here. She had been alive not more than a day or two ago. She had gotten her pretty little ass in gear and had rabbited out of this place, taking another Matara with her. He felt a surge of pride. Their precious girl was tough and resourceful.   
“When we find her…” Frell began.   
He held up his hand. “If. We can’t get overconfident.”  
“Fuck that. When we find her, my Dramok, I just hope to hell the first words out of your mouth are ‘Bethany, will you be our Matara?’”  
Rejan pressed his lips together. Then, he shook his head. “Damned Imdiko.”  
“Well?”  
Rejan glowered at his handsome lifemate. He jerked a nod. “Hell, yes.”  
Frell grinned. “Just checking.”  
They finished packing and securing the few things that needed buttoning up, then took turns pacing the perimeter of the lodge area, on the lookout for any intruders. Rejan was about to come in and check to see if Zan had commed when a movement in a nearby bush caught his eye.


	6. Chapter Seven

ALIEN HEART  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Seven

Rejan was there at the bush in a flash, knife at the ready. “Get out of there, or I’ll come through and gut you, asshole.”  
There was a squeak, then a young woman rose out from among the thorns. She was a tiny thing, with a head of curly black hair and huge gray eyes. She bore the marks of shackles on her slender wrists and there was a large bruise across one cheekbone. She was shaking so hard he was afraid she would fly apart.   
“P-please.” It was all she could choke out.   
Rejan lowered his knife but he watched her carefully. In the war, some Mataras had been pressed into service as suicide bombers, explosives strapped to their bodies, designed to go off when the Kalquorians, always deferential to females, allowed them in close.   
This little one wore a very tight shirt and trousers and she was so thin he could see her ribs. If she was carrying a weapon, it had to be the tiniest one in existence. She was so terrified he thought she was going to be sick.   
“Be calm, Matara. I am not here to harm you.” He held his knife away from his body. “We’ve just come from Plasius. We’re looking for a female who was abducted from there.”  
To his horror, the woman teared up and began to weep in soft, wailing cries. He heard quiet steps behind him and whirled about, knife up. He sagged. It was Frell, holding a blanket and a protein bar.  
“Matara.” He bowed to her and offered her the bar.   
After a long look at his Imdiko, the woman grabbed the food and ripped off the wrapper. She ate it in two bites, almost choking on it. Frell raced back to the ship and returned at once with two more bars and a water pouch. As she ate the third bar, he laid the blanket over her shoulders. She stared back and forth between the two of them.   
“You were taken from Plasius?” Rejan made his voice as gentle as possible.   
She nodded, wiping her hand across her chin, then licking the crumbs off her palm. Rejan’s fury kindled. She’d been starved, this little one. Frell handed her the water pouch and she sucked it greedily. How long had she been out here, exposed and alone?  
Frell pointed to a nearby bench. “Will you come sit down, Matara?”  
She nodded but kept her distance as they walked her over. She took a seat and pulled the blanket around her, one hand clutching it under her chin. His Imdiko hunkered down before her, making himself less imposing. He put a hand to his chest.  
“I’m Frell. This is Rejan. Were you also abducted?”  
She gulped, checking their faces. Rejan guessed she was trying to judge if they were “customers” who’d come for the auction.   
“We know what happened to you. We’ve been tracking the men who kidnapped you all the way from Plasius. We have both the official and personal support of the Saucin and her consort. We are Kalquorian, as you’ve likely guessed, but we have no wish to see any Earthers harmed.” Except the assholes who took his Matara.   
Frell spoke now. “We are looking for a Matara--a woman--named Bethany Corddray.”  
The woman’s eyes lit up. “Bethany?”   
Her voice was hoarse. Rejan realized the marks on her neck were from a choke collar. Someone had treated her like an animal. There was no way in the universe these bastards were going to escape his wrath. But he had to remain calm and not frighten this anxious little female.   
“Bethany, yes. She has red hair and green eyes?”  
“Bethany got away.” The woman’s eyes lit with excitement. “I hid but Bethany and Lydia, they ran, even before the others. I bet they’re safe. They’re both tough.” She hung her head. “I’m not that brave.”  
“You were very brave. And strong. You hid and you survived. You showed those bast—those jerks.” Frell’s use of the Earther word almost made Rejan smile. The Matara looked up at him with starred eyes.   
“I did, didn’t I?” Her spine straightened and her trembling lips firmed.   
He was so impressed, he was tempted to salute. Damn, but even this tiny one was tough, in her own way. Earther women were remarkable. He wondered at the change in his attitude, just since he’d come to know Bethany.  
Frell added his praise. “You did very well. Can you tell us more of what happened, ah—may I know your name?”   
Rejan watched Frell use his gentlest charm and was again proud of his Imdiko. The Matara was already beginning to relax. Then again, females always responded to Frell’s good looks, at the very least. He suppressed a grin as he recalled how Bethany had said once that Frell’s smile was designed to steal the panties off of women before they could blink. But his Imdiko was not working his wiles on this woman. He was focused completely on caring for her.  
“I’m Leela. I was taken from Islinn.”  
“Matara Leela. We are glad you’re safe. How did the ship crash?”  
Rejan wanted to pepper the woman with questions about Bethany but he held them in and allowed Frell to coax information from her. He held up a hand and Frell looked at him, brows raised.     
“I’m going to do another run around the perimeter. I don’t want any surprises.”  
Frell nodded and Rejan jogged off. He was dying to know what was being said but he wasn’t about to let down his guard. Not when they’d come so far and it seemed they were so close.   
He found nothing of note and circled back to the bench. Frell greeted him with a grim smile. “Leela has told me there were more than twelve men who took them. The women were all forced to record vids to their loved ones saying they were leaving and not coming back, or they were on extended journeys. Or, like Bethany, they claimed they’d run off with Earther males.” He gave a brief, lopsided smile. “Bethany fought them so hard they could only get her to make the vid by threatening to torture one of the other women.”  
Shit! Their darling girl. Her tender heart and her feisty spirit were still strong. He ached for her. Rejan kept his composure and listened as Leela took over.   
“They had trouble over Nevada and wound up bouncing down here. Made a perfect forty-seven point landing, as you can see.” She waved a hand at the crashed ship with its path of destruction. “They were supposed to take us to auction in the lodge but everyone was so shaken up by the landing that there was pandemonium. Most of the crew took hits, a lot of them were knocked out. Maybe killed.” She gave a faint smile. “All of us got out and ran. They all took separate directions, just like Lydia and Bethany told us to do. I was the only one who stayed. I was sick and too scared. I hid. Right behind the damn ship. Even after they came to, they never found me, the idiots.”  
“Very clever, Matara Leela.” Rejan squatted down before her. “You say Bethany and another woman told you all to scatter?”  
She nodded. “She and Lydia went together, though. They were such good friends, cellmates, you know. I just know they’re okay. They’re amazing, both of them.”  
“Did you see which direction they took? Did they say anything about where they might have gone?”  
She shrugged. “Lydia just said climb.” She looked up at the mountains rising behind them. “There’s a lot of climb up there.”  
“Matara, we have notified the nearest Kalquorian outpost. They are sending help. Do you think you can hide a little longer? We will give you a weapon and food and a com unit.”  
“You’re going to leave me here?”  
“We have to find our Matara.”  
She looked at him quizzically.   
“Bethany,” Rejan said softly. “She’s going to be my wife. Our wife.”  
“Ohh.” The big gray eyes went wide. “Oh! You’re her clan! Oh, she loves you so much! And you’re not dead!”  
Rejan glanced at Frell who looked just as puzzled as he felt. “Dead?”  
“They showed her a vid of someone blowing up your house with you inside. They told her you were dead. She almost went to pieces.”  
“They did what?” Rejan’s voice was so low it was practically a whisper.   
Frell put out his hand. “Rejan. Wait.”  
“They told her they’d had you three killed. She wanted to give up but she didn’t. She stayed with us and helped us.”  
Rejan stalked away. What more had these monsters done to their beloved? If little Leela was any indication of their treatment, they’d hit her, tortured her, starved her, choked her, threatened her, imprisoned her. He was glad Zan wasn’t here to hear this. His Nobek would scorch the earth and set fire to the ocean to find and kill the bastards who’d hurt his pretty girl. He’d find a way to annihilate every Earther male within five hundred miles. A thousand miles.  
But Bethany had rallied. Their Matara had risen above it. She was Nobek tough. Independent. Brave. By the ancients, how he loved her.  
Dammit, Zan was right. She was alive. He’d bet anything on it. And if she wasn’t giving up, he sure as hell wasn’t going to.   
He returned to Leela and Frell. Leela put out a hand to him. “I’m sorry I blurted out that stuff about the vid. I didn’t think. But she was okay the last time I saw her, honest. She was ready to fight.”  
He nodded. “I know.”  
She drew herself up as tall as her tiny frame would allow. “I’m not going to wuss out, either. You two go find Bethany. Give her a hug from me. I’ll stay here and when your people get here, I’ll tell them everything.”  
“Are you sure, Matara? We’d take you with us but I’m not sure you would be safe if we get into a fight with your kidnappers.” Frell studied her anxiously.   
She gave a decided nod. “Bastard Mike and the Buttheads, that’s what she used to call them. They called her Bethany the B—well, you can guess how much she pissed them off. If they hadn’t wanted the money they could get for her, they probably would have just shoved her out a porthole, she was up in their faces so much.” She blushed. “Oh, God, there I go. You didn’t need to hear that.”  
“Yes, we did.” Rejan smiled at her. “We’re glad to hear how brave she was.”  
“She was. She kept us all going, her and Lydia. I owe her.” She flapped the blanket at them. “Come, help me find a hidey-hole. You have to get out there and find her.”  
They gathered what food they could, and water, and a light stun pistol, then found a place for Leela to hole up in, of all things, a treehouse just inside the forest eaves. From there, she could see and hear anyone approaching and shoot if she needed. She was wide-eyed but stiff-backed and alert when they left her and trotted back to the ship.   
Rejan’s com buzzed. He slapped the link and Zan began to speak.   
#  
Bethany groaned and rolled to her side. She yelped and tipped back. She was manacled and it felt like knives were lodged in her lower back. What the hell had happened?  
She blinked and stared. She was in a tent.   
Mike. And one of the other Buttheads. She remembered now. They’d shot her with tranquilizer darts. Someone had kicked her just before she passed out.  
“Oh, Mah-tah-rah. You look like you just pissed yourself.”  
God. Bastard Mike himself. She stared up at him, struggling to get her eyes to work right and to overcome the pain in her back.   
“Didn’t expect to see me again, did you, Bethany Bitch?” Mike squatted down next to her. Triumph glinted in his cold eyes. “You just had to make more trouble for me, didn’t you?” His hand flashed out and slapped her across the mouth. “I’m not losing one damn nickel because of you, bitch. My guys are rounding up the last of the other women right now. The auction’s going to happen.” He leaned in. “I plan to save you for a very special customer. He likes redheads. He already sent his cage ahead. Along with some other special toys.”  
She kept her eyes steady on his hateful face while her mind whirred. Where had they taken her? If they were at the lodge, they wouldn’t be in a tent. That meant they were most likely still on the trail, not far from the boundaries of the national park. Why hadn’t they just put her on a shuttle and taken her back to Oakhurst?  
“Get up, bitch. You love hiking so much? You’re gonna do a lot of it today.”  
Mike stood and grabbed her arm, yanking her up to her feet. She gasped as the pain in her back and side screeched through her system. Mike chuckled.   
“Yeah, old Travis couldn’t resist getting his licks in before the tranks took hold. You and your gal pals caused us no end of trouble.” He jerked her out through the flap in the tent and she stood, blinking in the sunlight.   
Travis the Troll stood by a dying campfire, nursing a beer. He sneered at her as Mike steered her to the edge of the campsite and fisted his other hand in her hair. He yanked downward, forcing her to squat.  
“Pee, you little beast-fucker. ‘Cause we ain’t gonna stop along the way.”  
Her bladder was aching. She managed to fumble her pants loose and get her underpants down. She hated being exposed to the two leering Earthers but she needed the relief. When she was done, she struggled to get her jeans buttoned again. Mike yanked on her hair again, dragged her over to a stump and shoved her down to sit on it. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.   
“Stay there, Mah-tah-rah. Travis’ aim is damn good.”  
She looked at his companion, who was aiming a stun pistol at her. If he was the one who’d shot her last night, then the Troll was as good as Mike claimed. She nodded and Mike strode off to drag things out of the tent and collapse it into its pouch. As he filled their packs, her eyes strayed to where he’d made her squat. Even from here, she could see that her urine was tinged with blood. The bastard Travis’ great aim had connected his boot with one of her kidneys. No wonder her side felt like it had been bashed with a sledge-hammer.   
She wondered who had taken Lydia and where she was now. There was no shuttle in sight and Mike and his buddy had obviously been hunting on foot. She felt a weak joy that she and the others had caused the damned auction to be delayed. Had any of them gotten away?   
She watched Mike stow the last of their supplies. He wasn’t carrying much, but he had the tent and they’d built a fire overnight, so they had been prepared to camp. Hurt kidney or not, manacles or not, she had to find a way to escape, or if not escape, then make Bastard Mike and Travis the Troll’s lives miserable. She wasn’t going to any damned auction.   
Mike took over watching her while Travis packed up his stuff and they consulted, in whispers. She rolled her eyes. Jeez. It was like being a kid again, when the others whispered behind her back while she and her friend, the other Rat Face, had walked past on the playground.   
“Her parents just ran off. They couldn’t stand her, I guess,” they’d sneered. “Ratty Patty’s mom’s not even sure who her dad is.” And “Bethany-Wethany’s a complete waste of space-er.”  
Those words had stung her child’s heart. With these two, more than her feelings could be hurt. They could kill her at any moment. Let them try. She wasn’t going to let them have that satisfaction any more than she and Ratty Patty had allowed the other kids to get them down.   
The two men came over and Mike hauled her to her feet. “Come on, you Kalquorian fuck toy. Time to move.”  
They struck out on the main trail headed up into the park. Bethany scowled. Why weren’t they headed down, toward Oakhurst?  
Her answer came late that afternoon, after they’d forced-marched her for hours without stopping for rest or water. Mike took a water pouch and drank it almost dry, then handed her the remainder. She swallowed gratefully, allowing the soothing wetness to relieve the dust of the trail in her mouth. A low, buzzing sound began to build behind them.   
“Shit.” Mike grabbed her and pulled her off the trail and into the shadow of the trees.   
Bethany twisted against his hold. She knew that sound. It was a shuttle. The fact that ole Mikey was hiding from it could mean only one thing: enemies. Any enemy of Bastard Mike was a friend of hers. If she could just get out, get back on the open trail—  
Travis tackled her and she went down, the air whooshing out of her lungs. The buzzing grew louder as she reached for a breath. When she could inhale at last, the shuttle had passed. Shit, indeed.  
“Apes?” Travis asked Mike as he hauled Bethany to her feet again.   
“Probably. Might have been gangs, though.”  
Oh, goodie. California’s old, infamous gangs were still alive, of course. They probably ruled, seeing how their nature had been to fight and kill and steal to survive long before Armageddon had made it mandatory. If she fell into the hands of a gang, they’d have no more compunction than the Buttheads about selling her. Only they’d have little interest in preserving the “quality” of the merchandise and they’d sell to whoever had cash in hand. Hell and damn. If gangs came after them, the best she could hope for was a fight that would distract Mike and Travis and give her a chance to escape. Slim hope, but she stored it up, just the same.   
Meanwhile, they were back on the trail and climbing. Her legs were aching. Her injury was a constant, nagging throb. Her stomach rumbled but she went on, doggedly. She’d come this far. She wasn’t going down until they took her down.   
#  
Zan circled the rocks, breathing in the mingled scents. There had been a large animal here, and there was plenty of blood. Two bodies had been savaged and scavenged until they were little more than carcasses on the ground. Beneath it all, pure and clear, was the scent of his Bethany.   
He growled low in his throat as he again approached the remains. They were Earthers, he could tell from their stature, and there were bits of clothing lying around that were definitely Earther-made. When he’d found the empty cabin lower down, he’d discovered Bethany and her companion’s clothing and guessed they’d changed into suitable Earther clothes for running through the mountains. Were these two…?   
He wouldn’t let himself think it.  
He forced himself to squat down and look more closely at one of them. Insects were already feasting on the corpse but he was able to see that the remaining hair on the skull was most likely brown or black. Not red. Not Bethany.   
He went to the other body and this time, bolder, dug away at the dirt that had accumulated on the skull. Blond hair. Short, like an Earther male’s.   
He stood and breathed deep. She’d been here but she hadn’t been attacked by this animal that had taken down both these Earthers. Had they been pursuing her? The site was a confusion of scents, footprints, and even the dust-stirred print of where a shuttle had set down.   
Was she on board that shuttle?  
He circled, pacing carefully, making ever-widening arcs out from where the bodies lay. He paused at a tangle of bushes. Several branches had been broken and bent. She’d hidden in here! He found only her scent, clear and unsullied, and one long, red hair. She had been hiding, maybe as this animal had savaged her pursuers.   
His Matara was a wonder. But she was also damn lucky. He doubted she’d summoned this animal, likely a bear, to come to her aid. She couldn’t count on that happening twice. He circled out still more widely and caught her scent on a deer-track. She’d escaped once again and was headed east, up the mountains.   
He glanced all around, then opened his com link to Rejan.


	7. Chapter Eight

ALIEN HEART, PART II  
Based on the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Eight

 

“We’ll match the coordinates on your com.” Frell listened as Rejan spoke into his wrist unit. “The sun’s setting. We’ll be there soon.”  
Frell was already at the console of their shuttle, setting up the link to their Nobek’s com. Zan was an easy flight away, and not a difficult climb for him on foot, but it was a good long ways up for a small Earther female to have traveled in such a short time. Still, their Nobek had said he was sure Bethany was alive and on her way up the mountain. The news was still good.  
“I’ll get the hatch, my Imdiko, and we’ll blow up this popcycle stall.”  
Frell laughed out loud. “Earther slang does not suit you, my Dramok. It’s 'blow this popsicle stand.' I know, I made the same mistake and Bethany laughed her little ass off.”  
Rejan shot him a sour look but went to secure the door. By the time he slid into the seat next to Frell, he was smiling again. Frell quickly set the controls and they eased out of the ship’s shuttle bay. A moment later, they were in the air, rising over miles of trees climbing to the sky. The sun was sinking behind them. They were on their way. Every moment that passed brought them closer to their Matara.  
He bent to his task with that happy thought in his heart. Their Matara. They hadn’t clanned her--yet--but he didn’t care anymore. Bethany was theirs, their beloved, the center of their lives. It felt solidly right to think of her that way.  
“She’s alive, my Imdiko.”  
Frell heard the pleasure in Rejan’s voice, an echo of his own elation. “Damned straight.”  
His Dramok gave him the eyebrow. “Oh, so you can use Earther slang and I can’t?”  
Frell shrugged. “Of course. After all, I’m so much younger and more in tune with such things.”  
“Bullshit.”  
Frell grinned and reached out to slap his Dramok’s shoulder. “Ah, so maybe you can use Earther slang after all!”  
“Damned Imdiko.”  
Frell ignored Rejan’s muttering. They were getting closer. He needed to maintain his focus. They weren’t there yet.  
They soared upward, angling east to zero in on Zan’s coordinates. “Dammit, Nobek, stand still.” Frell squinted at the map display, where a small red dot was inching up the grid. “He keeps going in and out of the trees. He knows we can’t touch down there.”  
“He knows what he’s doing. Just stay on him. He may have a reason for keeping under cover. Or he’s only following Bethany’s path.”  
“We’ll lose the light soon. I can still fly, but it will be harder to find a place to land.”  
Nonetheless, Frell knew his Nobek was in hot pursuit of their Bethany. He also knew Zan was familiar with the area from his days on Earth with the military pyro unit. Here and there on the screen, small heat blips flickered, disappeared, most likely animals moving among the tall pines that were growing thicker as they marched up the mountainside. He stole a glance at his Dramok, who was watching the vid of the outside landscape with fierce intensity. He had a suspicion as to what was on Rejan's mind.  
“Are you thinking of Larke?”  
Rejan jerked, then scowled. “Why do you ask?”  
“We're very close to where you and she met, aren’t we? You must have memories of this place.”  
Rejan stared at the vid for a long time. Finally, he spoke.  
“I have seen her, Frell. Larke. Back in Oakhurst. She walked out of the trees and stood watching me while I searched the perimeter.”  
“Did she speak?” Frell wasn’t sure what to ask, so he let his instincts rule.  
“No. But I have smelled smoke again.” Rejan’s voice was hushed, rough. “Twice. Once by that blasted conference center and again just now, when I closed the hatch.”  
Frell went carefully. “It could just be campfires burning.”  
“It could.”  
“But you don’t think so?”  
Rejan’s strong features were hard-set. “It was the same as what I smelled that early morning after I first had sex with Bethany. When I ran away. It haunts me. But I’ve actually never seen Larke herself before.”  
“Do you believe she’s alive?”  
“Her dress was burnt. Her face was sooty. She appeared and then simply dematerialized.” Rejan shoulder heaved in a silent sigh. “No. She’s not alive. But she is haunting me.”  
“You don’t believe in ghosts.”  
“No. But I believe in guilt. In this place, after all that's happened, with Bethany in danger, my mind is busy telling me I fucked up then. I fucked up with Bethany. I’ll likely fuck up this time, too.”  
Rejan’s voice, which had so recently rung with joy, now sounded hollow with defeat. Frell wasn’t having it.  
“You will not fuck up, Rejan. This is now, not back then. And while you may have had the good fortune to encounter our Nobek on that day, you didn’t have him as your lifemate then.” He shot a wicked look at his Dramok. “And, of course, you didn’t have me.”  
Rejan growled and shook his head. “I know it’s not reasonable or logical. But I saw her. I failed Larke.”  
Frell thought for a moment as he adjusted their course. “Bethany hasn’t appeared to you, has she?”  
Rejan blinked. “No.”  
“Good. Then you know you haven’t fucked up. You haven’t failed Bethany. That’s what you need to focus on.” He chuckled. “Besides, if you fucked things up with Bethany, she wouldn’t just appear like some polite, wispy vapor. Her little ghost would walk right up and kick your sorry ass.”  
Rejan barked a laugh. “Yes. That’s true. Thank you, my Imdiko. I--”  
Frell held up his hand. “Wait. I think Zan’s slowing down.”  
At long last, Zan came to a halt and Frell saw from the topography that he’d located a tiny meadow. Perfect for landing the small craft. He put down and he and Rejan leaped out to greet their clanmate.  
Zan grinned and held up something in the waning shafts of sunlight through the western trees. Frell wanted to howl his joy at the glint of red off the long, single strand of hair. Bethany!  
“Where?” Rejan asked at once.  
“A few miles back down the mountain. In a clump of bushes where she was hiding, possibly from a bear attack.”  
Frell’s heart thumped. “What?”  
“There were two bodies there, neither of them hers. She wasn’t attacked, as far as I could tell. She left there about ten hours ago, I think.”  
“Ten hours. Shit.” Rejan looked around the meadow. “Any sign of the bastards who took her and the other Mataras?”  
“No, but there was a shuttle landing-print near the site of the attack. The other Matara--her friend Lydia's, I guess--her footprints stopped there. That was where Bethany was separated from her companion. You?”  
Rejan shook his head. “No one around the lodge, but we found one of the missing Mataras.” He related what Leela had told them as Frell went to grab food from the shuttle. He left out some of the worst of what Leela had shared. The impulse to protect and to avenge his mate went deepest in the Nobek breed, to the point of almost bestial fury. He needed Zan to be determined and strong, not insane with rage. When Frell returned, Zan accepted the water pouch and drank long and deeply.  
“Zan says she’s definitely headed up toward Yosemite Park,” Rejan told him while Zan ate. “She’s alone but it looks like she has still has food, water, and warm clothes.”  
Frell smiled. “She’s one resourceful little Matara.” He turned to Zan. “Rejan says he’ll ask Bethany to clan with us as soon as we find her. Help me make sure he doesn’t forget.”  
Zan nodded solemnly, glancing at the Dramok, who only growled in response. Zan gave a snort and nodded to Frell. “You have my full support.”  
Frell glanced at the lowering light. “It will be dark soon. Do you want to continue the search, my Nobek, or take a rest?”  
Zan rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t rest while she’s out there, alone.”  
“I’m fresh and I’m a fair tracker,” Rejan said. “Let me spell you.”  
Zan shook his head. “I can’t.”  
“Then we’ll both go. The bears around here are testy enough in ordinary times. If the winds are blowing strange things their way, they might be wilder.”  
Zan blew out a breath. “The way those two hikers were torn apart, I’d say you’re correct. All right. But we’ll need you, Imdiko, to fly the shuttle. I want to bust out of here as fast we can once we find our Matara.”  
“Oh, don’t worry, my Nobek. We’ll blow up this popcycle stall.”  
Frell ducked Rejan’s swing at his head and danced backward. “Let me get more food. And a couple of stim tabs. You sit and rest, Zan. We’ll have evening meal and be back on the hunt in no time.”  
He raced back to the shuttle and opened the last box of rations, which was one of the ones Lunt and Thantajep had given them. He laughed aloud and quickly hauled it to the meadow, along with water pouches for each of them.  
They feasted on roasted ronka in fresh-packs along with preserved parinna fruit and flat bread. The taste of home was more than welcome in this strange world, on this desperate errand. They ate quickly, though, and then Rejan and Zan made ready to take up the hunt once more.  
“If Bethany’s friend, Matara Lydia, was taken, it means there could be another shuttle around here, one that’s also hunting Mataras.” Rejan strapped another knife to his belt. “The men from the Kalquorian outpost should already be at Oakhurst, though. My Imdiko, I leave it to you to contact them and tell them what’s happening.”  
“Count on it.”  
Frell searched the skies, saw only stars. He had a sudden twinge of real fear, as if something large and menacing approached. Still, peace reigned in the meadow.  
He clasped each of his clanmates’ shoulders and squeezed. “Com me at once if you need me. Even if you don’t. And don’t get killed; I’ll be pissed and Bethany will be so mad she’ll dig up your graves and kill you all over again.”  
Zan grinned, his white teeth showing bright in his dark face. Rejan nodded, rolling his eyes. The pair of them looked at each other and moved out as one, crossing the meadow in a blink and vanishing into the trees.  
Frell glanced around again, checking for danger, then gathered up the remains of their meal and settled back into the shuttle, closing the hatch and raising the cloaking shield. There was nothing to do but wait.  
#  
Bethany stumbled over the rocky path and almost fell. She fought to keep her balance with her wrists still manacled. The metal had chafed her skin already but she didn’t care. She had been allowed to relieve herself at sunrise and she was alarmed to see more blood. The pain had isolated itself in the area just between her hip and ribs. Yep, kidney damage. Traveling over the rough terrain jostled the injury, wearing her out. She had yet to find an opportunity to run but she wasn’t ready to give up hope.  
Travis griped as they tramped upward, switching back and forth over the rock-strewn trail. “Fuck. How much farther?”  
“Quarter mile. Maybe half.” Mike consulted his wrist com. “Yeah. Quarter.”  
“We’re outta beer.”  
“Tough shit.”  
“Is there gonna be vid access?”  
“What the hell, you think we’re going to a resort? No, no vid access. Nobody has any around here since the apes triggered the bombs.”  
Mike led the way up the next rise. The opposite side was almost pure stone and the trail obviously had not been groomed in years. It aimed downward at a sharp pitch, forcing her to bend her knees and inch along, keeping her center of gravity low, and wavering to keep her balance.  
Travis snarled behind her. “Hurry up, bitch. We ain’t got forever.”  
She didn’t bother to reply. She knew from their time on the ship that nothing ever made Travis the Troll happy except a cold beer and a chance to loaf, watching porn vids. She’d save her energy for getting away.  
Her heel slipped and she almost went down on her butt. She struggled upright and slipped again in the gravel. Running water had cut deep rivulets in the parts of the trail that were dirt, forming potholes she had to work around. She heard Travis breathing right behind her and picked up her pace. He grunted and stomped, his big feet no doubt keeping him in perfect balance.  
Only they didn’t.  
It happened in a flash. Travis’ feet must have shot out from under him and he went down, his legs shooting out and slamming into Bethany’s ankles. The soft gravel gave way beneath her and she hit a hole with her right foot. It twisted and buckled and she crashed, unable to break her fall with her bound hands. She hit a rock at the side of the trail and yelped as a searing pain tore through her right knee, then seemed to join in a perfect storm with the pain in her side. She shrieked in agony.  
“Aw, goddammit!” Mike stood over her and yanked her to her feet.  
She screamed again and felt like she was about to vomit, even though it had been two days since she last ate. She tried but couldn’t get her right leg to support her and she almost fell to the ground again. Mike clenched her arm tighter, keeping her up.  
“Shit. You worthless, troublesome cunt. If that’s broken I’m gonna beat you so hard your whole family will scream.” He twisted to the side. “Travis, get your sorry ass up. You’re gonna help her the rest of the way.”  
“What?” Travis rose, dusting off his sorry ass. “I don’t have to—”  
“The hell you don’t.” Mike’s tone was vicious. “We’re gonna get to that fucking cabin before dark or I’ll slice off your pathetic dick and feed it to the bears.”  
“All right. Shit. You don’t have to get all bent outta shape.”  
“Fuck you. Get her arm and get going.”  
Going down the trail with the Troll shoving up under her arm and hurrying her along was almost as painful as trying to do it on her own. Bethany tried to think but there was just too much pain. Mike had mentioned a cabin.  
Oh, please, let it be nearby. Anyplace where I can lie down.  
She bit her lip until it was almost bloody, trying to keep from crying out with every step. Travis growled and jerked her up when she stumbled, his fingers digging deep into her arm. If her leg was broken, how the hell was she going to get away?  
There was nothing to do but walk.  
I want my clan.  
#  
Zan’s fangs dropped as he studied the ground and processed the various scents. Rejan was nearby, tracking footprints.  
“They have her.”  
Zan saw Rejan straighten quickly in the pre-dawn light. His Dramok joined him at the spot where they’d found Bethany’s scent the strongest.  
“You're right. She fell here. Hard and fast.” Rejan pointed to the long impression in the duff.  
“No blood. Must have used tranks.”  
“That means they’re keeping her alive.”  
Zan hissed. “We have to get these gurlucks.”  
“Do you read the tracks the same way I do? They left on foot. Her tracks don’t leave.”  
“She was unconscious. They carried her. Those prints leading out are heavier.”  
Zan wanted to tip back his head and howl. They’d been so close! It had looked like they could soon catch up to their fleeing Matara. Now what?  
“There’s no sign of a shuttle, so that means they’re on foot.” Rejan’s voice was calm, trying to reassure him. “We’re faster than any Earthers and far better trackers. We both know this area. They’ve got an unconscious woman with them, at least for now. We’ll keep on them.”  
“Our Matara.” Zan ground out the words.  
“Yes. She’s ours and we’re not giving her up.” Rejan glanced around the site where they’d seen signs of the scuffle. “I’m going to com Frell and tell him there’s been a change. Then we’ll run.”  
Zan prowled the small clearing as Rejan reported to their Imdiko. Blood-lust sang in his veins.  
He recalled Bethany’s happy laughter and wide eyes when he’d taken her diving at the lake. She was game for anything, his pretty girl. He’d fallen in love with her in that instant, when she’d dived into the water to join him, a feeling so complete and true that he’d never had a moment’s doubt about his passion for her. His devotion to her. When all three of them had made love to her for the first time, she had been anxious but sweetly eager, too. Completely giving, even when they pressed her, teased her. It had been one of the best experiences of his life.  
How had he come to doubt her? When she’d disappeared, claiming she was going off with another man, what weakness in him had permitted him to suspect her fidelity? They’d wasted so much time—if only—  
“There’s no point in regretting, my Nobek.”  
Zan looked at Rejan, scowling. What the hell? Was his Dramok turning into an Imdiko, reading minds and emotions? Rejan raised a hand before he could speak.  
“If anyone’s guilty of delaying us, of doubting his instincts, it’s your Dramok. But right now, guilt isn’t worth a damn. Time’s wasting. Let’s go get our precious girl. And kill some Earther bastards.”  
Zan’s ferocious expression didn’t alter but he managed a nod. He turned and together they raced into the rising sun.


	8. Chapter Nine

ALIEN HEART  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Nine

 

Bethany’s teeth were clenched together so hard she was afraid they were going to break. One of the Buttheads, Butch, had force-fed her whiskey until she was ready to puke but it hadn’t done its job as an anesthetic. Pete the Prick was ham-handedly trying to set her broken leg. Frustrated, he finally roared and slammed his hand against the offending leg. She shrieked even as she felt the bone go back to its rightful place. She blacked out for a few moments, she guessed, then came to in the misery of him tying two branches to her leg as a splint. He’d bandaged the site where the bone had just poked through the skin and it pulsed with its own pain.  
“All right!” Pete finished the last binding and threw up his hands. “Fuck, that was a pain in the ass! This bitch better bring a good price, ‘cause you owe me, Mike.”  
“She will.” Mike loomed over her. “And you owe me, Mah-tah-rah.”  
He reached down and twisted her breast. She didn’t even flinch. She was past small hurts like that. All she wanted right now was to be left alone to breathe through the pain.  
“Here.” Butch shoved another glass of whiskey into her hand, then held out two pain-relief tabs.  
She took both gladly. Maybe she’d even sleep, she thought as the booze hit her, making the ceiling lamp overhead circle and swoop. Was this better or not?  
She lost track of time, fading in and out of consciousness. Pain lanced through her every waking moment. The Buttheads kept pouring whiskey down her, and adding pain pills. She was grateful, even though she knew they were most likely doing it just to keep her quiet and docile.  
She lay in the darkness now, while Travis sat smoking and staring out the window, a stun pistol in his lap. He’d fondled her a few times when she was half-awake, and Mike had woken her up mauling her breasts, then made her watch him jerk off--jerk being the operative word, she thought sourly.  
She thought of her beloveds and how she had enjoyed their rough play and their brilliant eyes whenever they watched one of their clanmates take her. With them, it had been exciting, arousing, and even fun, even when they spanked her or tied her up. Maybe especially when they spanked her or tied her up. But the touch of these other men was so pitiful and so far from sexy she’d almost yawned in their faces.  
Tears threatened, more from exhaustion and the booze than from anything else. She batted them back just the same. Somehow, she felt if she started to cry now, she would never, ever be able to stop. Wouldn’t the Buttheads just love that?  
“All right, cunt.” The lights blazed and Mike strode over to the couch where she lay. “Gotta move you. We got work to do.”  
He pulled her up and threw her over his shoulder. He dug his hand into her pussy as he hauled her up the stairs. She was in too much pain to protest. He shoved through a bedroom door and dumped her so she was sitting on the bare bed, then motioned to someone behind him.  
Butch brought over a plate of food. Her mouth instantly filled with liquid. She’d hardly had anything to eat since they’d brought her here, although she’d smelled food cooking and heard the men eating and talking in the kitchen. The plate was paper, the spork they’d provided, of the thinnest wood. No hope of a weapon. Butch tossed a water pouch down at her side and dumped four pain pills onto her plate.  
“Sorry. Not enough for an overdose, bitch.” He sneered at her and left.  
Mike shook his head. “Not so mouthy now, huh, Mah-tah-rah? At least you got a view.” He motioned around at the two good-sized windows. “But don’t try to open them or the door, unless you want to be scraping your face off the floor. They’re rigged, see?”  
He crossed to one of the windows and pointed to a wire running along the outside of the glass. “It’s the same with the door. Lift ‘em even a fraction and boom!”  
“What if I do? Won’t my lack of a face cut into the profit you’ll make when you sell me?”  
His face darkened. “Back to mouthy again. Well, I don’t have time to waste jawing with you. We have some more of your gal pals to round up.” He snatched away her plate and stomped out.  
Bethany finished her water and took two of the pain-inhibitors. The tiny bit of food she’d tasted had made her hunger worse. She needed to think about something other than her stomach. Or her side. Or her leg. Jeez, she sounded like an old woman cataloging her ills. “Can’t have that, Corddray.”  
She rose cautiously and limped over to look out the windows. There was little to see. The cabin had been built so it was nestled right in among the trees, with only a battered, unpaved access road leading to it. She watched as Mike and Pete climbed into the awkward shuttle parked below and lifted off. The thing made good time, she had to give them that. What Earther vehicles lacked in style they more than made up for in power. It droned up and out of the tiny clearing and vanished over the trees. They were off to find the others. Would they bring them here?  
She took a head count. Two of her captors were dead on the ship. Two Buttheads dead by Mama Bear. Two gone hunting in the shuttle. That still left eight downstairs, if she had counted right. No, there was no way she could battle with them, even if her leg would allow it. No way she could sneak out. At least not now.  
She hobbled back to the bed and sat down, her leg out straight in front of her. The sun was all the way up and she was cheered by the thin light through the dirty windows. She had to bide her time. She’d find a way.  
They fed her again that night. When the door opened to let in Butch, she could hear Mike downstairs, swearing at the top of his lungs.  
“How the hell did you screw it up? A chimp could have flown the shuttle into that ravine! Now I gotta fix the goddamn ship and we didn’t even get those bitches that were hiding there!”  
Another voice mumbled a reply but Bethany couldn’t hear what was said. Mike kept ranting.  
“How the hell should I know if the buyers are still in the area? It doesn’t matter if we ain’t got the merchandise, now, does it? All we’ve got is the beast-fucker upstairs and she’s a crip! Damaged goddamned goods!”  
Butch backed out the door and she heard the key in the lock and the blips of the explosive containment device being set. She stared at the charred hot dog and slimy beans on her plate.  
Part of her wanted to rejoice that Mike and his buddy had failed. Another, small part of her wished, for just a second that they’d brought in someone who might keep her company, to plot against their captors.  
She’d never felt so alone.  
She finished her tasteless meal and drank off her water, along with two more pain tabs. Darkness came again and she slept.  
#  
Frell heard the whisper of the console and jumped to answer the com. It was an unfamiliar link but it was Kalquorian. Not likely to be Rejan or Zan but still, probably friendly. He tapped the com and spoke.  
“Shuttle 4-Z 862.”  
“Shuttle 4-Z 862, this is ERE Team Gamma. We are in Oakhurst.”  
ERE. That was Earther Rescue and Evacuation. Frell grinned as he responded. “Glad to hear from you. Do you have someone in your care?”  
The voice from the com sounded both astonished and amused. “We have. Matara Leela says to tell you she almost shot us but she recognized us in time.”  
Frell laughed. “Tell her she’s made us proud. She’s all right, yes?”  
A high voice spoke now. “I’m fine. Is this Frell?”  
“It is, Matara! Good to hear your voice. Are those beastly Kalquorians taking care of you?”  
“They’re all very nice. And really tall.” Her voice almost squeaked with amazement.  
“Glad to know you're well.”  
The other voice came on again, speaking Kalquorian. “This is Dramok Captain Nesh. Have you located your Matara?”  
Frell’s happy grin vanished. “We’re closing in. She’s been recaptured. My clanmates are on her trail. I will join them as soon as they know what we’re facing.”  
“Damn. I wanted you to know we’re here at the site and we’ll give what aid we can, though we’ve already sent out most of our men to find the other Mataras. Do you need a team now, Imdiko Frell?”  
“Thank you, no. I’ll let you know. Just keep searching for those women. As Matara Leela may have told you, they’ve been through hell with those gurlucks.”  
“Send us word on this link. It should be secure.”  
“Thanks again.”  
The com blinked off and Frell sat, tapping his fingers on the console. He knew the Evac team would do their best to rescue Bethany’s companions. He wished he could do more, but he knew it was safer for all if he waited while Rejan and Zan pursued on foot. Their shuttle was small but it would tip off their enemies if he brought it down too close. It could put Bethany in danger.  
He watched the screen where the sweep told him the ship’s viewers were scanning the area in great arcs. He saw what he now knew were deer and even a hunting owl. Some sort of large cat slipped among the trees. All were just silhouettes on his screen but the heat of their bodies were easily read. All pretty normal… He blinked.  
“By the Ancients!”  
A pair of shapes were moving across the screen, not fast and not gracefully, but they were definitely not deer, or bears, or owls. These were two-legged, small, and quite warm, judging from the intensity of their color.  
He brought up the vid to the outside. It was dark and the trees were all but impenetrable in this light. Who were the two out there?  
“Shit.”  
Three other shapes joined the movements on his screen, approaching the others from behind. They were going much more carefully than the first two. Stalking them.  
Were the other two Zan and Rejan? He optimized the scan to double-check. Not big Kalquorians. Two smaller beings.  
Mataras. Being hunted by three Earthers. He guessed they had no idea someone was close behind.  
Frell hesitated for a moment. Those Mataras were in peril but he was bound to stay here and wait for the call from Rejan or Zan. His duty, his honor, his need to protect and care for others twisted around and around inside him.  
Fuck it. He couldn’t face Bethany if he let two of her friends be retaken by these bastards. He had his com. He’d hear the call from his clan.  
Swift as thought, he sprang up to grab a blaster, and two knives. He flipped the hood of his black formsuit up over his head and fastened it tightly so only his nose and eyes appeared. Black gloves finished his camouflage. He was out the hatch in a blink, making the cloaked ship secure by remote as he ran for the woods.  
Inside the trees, he slowed at once and took a reading by his com. It was not as sensitive as the scan in the shuttle but it showed the general outlines of the five forms ahead of him. The gap between the two groups was closing. He picked a line and went ahead, as quickly and as silently as he could go. His eyes were fully acclimated to the dark by now and he knew he could see better than any Earther, which was an advantage. But he’d need more than that to fight these three.  
He soon found his advantage, although it was a slim one. It involved risking his com but it might do the trick. He raced ahead of the hunters, parallel to their path. He took his position and waited. He rolled his eyes. Earthers were smaller and lighter than Kalquorians but damn, they made a lot of noise. How could the two women ahead of them not have heard their stomping?  
“See ‘em?” he heard one of the hunters whisper.  
His companion chortled softly. “Nah, but I know they’re there. They’re toast.”  
“Think we’ll beat Mike and the others?” asked the third.  
“Who gives a shit? Let’s just get ‘em and get back to base.”  
They were closer now. Frell listened to their footsteps and calculated carefully. When the moment was right, he set his com and tossed it across the path just ahead of the hunters. A second later, the scream of a Kalquorian zibger split open the quiet of the trees. The three men halted.  
“What the fuck was that?”  
“Mountain lion. Jeezus, that was close!”  
“That sounds bigger than any mountain lion.” The man sounded ready to choke.  
“Get ready to shoot if it comes this way.”  
Frell heard the women up ahead, frantically whispering and, smart females, starting to climb into the trees. He chuckled silently, thought hard for his clan and his Matara, then dropped from the branch where he was perched.  
“Aiigh!” The man he landed on screamed like a zibger himself. Frell knew he had only one chance to subdue him. His knife slid in between the hunter’s ribs and twisted, fast. He gasped, once, and went down. Frell pulled his knife free.  
The other two finally saw him. He pulled back his hood and grinned, baring his fangs, then went into a defensive crouch.  
“Shit! It’s a Kalq!” One of them had a blaster and he raised it, taking aim, but badly. Frell leapt out of the line of fire, and came around with his own blaster in hand. He aimed and took out the one with the gun. The com screeched again and the remaining hunter leapt to see if the animal was behind him.  
There was an animal behind him but it wasn’t a zibger and it wasn’t a mountain lion. It was a Matara, feet and fists flying. She came on like a storm, aiming near-lethal kicks at the bastard. One of her kicks sent him sailing backwards, right into Frell’s arms. The Imdiko wrapped his arm around the man’s head and twisted. There was a resounding crack and the man was a corpse. Frell let him drop, then raised his hands to the panting Matara who looked poised to come after him.  
“I am a friend, Matara! I’m Bethany’s Imdiko!”  
The woman halted, but didn’t relax her stance. He almost smiled. Another mean Matara, he’d wager.  
Frell went on, keeping his hands up. “I am here with my clan. We’re trying to find Bethany Corddray. Were you also taken from Plasius?”  
“He’s Kalquorian. And he killed all three of those guys.” The other woman moved up next to her companion. “Enemies of the Butthead Brigade are friends of ours.”  
The first woman kept her eyes on Frell. “How do we know this isn’t a trick? Bethany said she wasn’t clanned. She doesn’t have an Imdiko.”  
Frell nodded. “It’s true. We are the asshats who failed to ask her to clan with us before she was taken at Minishan. But I love her and I think of her as my Matara.”  
The second woman snickered. “Asshat. That sounds like Bethany.”  
The first woman lowered her arms. “Yeah, it really does. Is anyone with you? Anyone following you?”  
Frell relaxed a little. “No one following us, that I know of. My clan is ahead, up the mountain, tracking Bethany on foot.” He pointed. “I have a shuttle in that clearing. It’s cloaked, but I vow on Bethany’s head that it’s there.”  
The second woman whispered to her partner. “What about that animal?”  
“I can explain that.” Frell smiled. “That was my com. I set it to make that sound so I could distract these bastards.”  
The first woman looked somewhat impressed. “And you waited in that tree so you could get the drop on them. All right, maybe you’re an asshat, but I’m thinking you’re not a Butthead.”  
Frell brought his hands to his chest and bowed. “I am Imdiko Frell. I am honored to meet you both.”  
He looked from one to the other. The two women couldn’t have been more different. The warrior was small, with a shock of curly dark hair and sharp, intelligent features. The other woman was taller, with a form that Frell would, ordinarily, itch to sculpt. Her long black hair and clear blue eyes were strikingly beautiful. Not as lovely as his darling girl, but a very feminine and lovely female. Both women were disheveled and had the grim look of the hungry and tired, much like Matara Leela.  
“If I may retrieve my com, Mataras, I can call the Rescue and Evacuation team at Oakhurst to send a shuttle for you.”  
“Oakhurst? No fucking way! Those bastards aren’t going to get us there again.” The warrior woman went on the defense once more.  
Frell wanted to kill these Buttheads, each and every one of them. His rage was approaching Nobek levels. He gathered his calm. He had to get these two to safety and get back to waiting for Rejan and Zan to summon him.  
“How can I reassure you that I am trustworthy?”  
“Show us your fucking shuttle.”  
“I can do that. I’ll need my com.”  
“You get it, Georgette.” The warrior Matara kept her watch on him.  
The tall one named Georgette went and scouted around, found it in the dirt where Frell had tossed it. She brought it back. “Tell me what to do.”  
“First, hit the link button at right side. It will bring up vids of Bethany with my clan.”  
Georgette pressed the button and a shimmering image of Clan Rejan with Bethany in the park by Frell’s sculpture popped into the darkness above the com. She pressed the button again and there was Bethany in the flower garden on their trip to Minishan, smiling happily at him. Another came up, of Frell with Bethany in his arms, kissing her beside the pool at the villa. His longing for her rose up sharp and strong.  
“Well. That’s Bethany all right, Rainy.” She looked at Frell. “It looks like you wouldn’t have any need to kidnap her. She’d follow you to the sun.” Georgette smiled at him now and he felt his tension release still more. However, her words cut him even as they warmed him. Bethany had indeed loved him, these vids showed it clearly. He had been so wrong. Would she forgive him?  
“Okay,” Rainy said. “Show us your shuttle.”  
Frell led the way, allowing them at his back, though he would have preferred to be behind, watching out for an ambush if it came. They reached the clearing and he nodded to Georgette. “Now slide in the tab at the very top of my com.”  
She did so and the shuttle materialized, its silvery surface reflecting the starlight. Rainy looked somewhat appeased.  
“I have food and water, Mataras. You would honor me if I could give you some.”  
“We’ll go with you.”  
Frell again led them, showing Georgette how to spring the hatch. It slid up and he allowed Rainy to go first. She was a Nobek to her soul, he thought, protective of her loved ones. Zan would approve.  
He motioned for them to look around, to assure themselves there was no one else waiting to attack them in the small space. He moved to the minuscule galley and got out protein bars, dried fruits, nuts, and water pouches from the cooling unit. He set them on the table and bowed. “Please sit and rest.”  
The two women hesitated for only a second, then plopped down on the cushions and tore into the food. Georgette might be the daintier of the pair, but she, too, ripped open a protein bar and ate one almost as quickly as Leela had at the conference center. She and Rainy ate every speck and when he offered more, neither refused.  
He felt great satisfaction to see them fed and cared for. He had just killed for them and although it had been in Bethany’s name, it was going to be a sore spot in his soul for a while. He didn’t regret it, but loss of life was a horror. Far better to be the one to make others safe and sound.  
“Now. May I summon the Rescue team?”  
“What happens to us if you take off and leave us here?” This time Georgette was the suspicious one.  
“I will not do that. If I am summoned to go to my clanmates, I will not leave you at the mercy of these Buttheaded ones.”  
Rainy and Georgette consulted each other in silence. Georgette turned to him. “Okay. Let’s make a deal. You fly us to meet the team now, and then you can get right back for your clan.”  
Frell took only a second to consider. “Done. I will com Captain Nesh and we’ll set up a rendezvous. He and his team have taken over the conference center in Oakhurst. Matara Leela is with them now.”  
Rainy’s eyes went wide. “Leela! She didn’t get away?”  
Frell moved to the console. “She hid, the clever little one. My Dramok and I found her and she told us much of what had happened to you all. I’ll see if Nesh can have her speak to you.”  
“No.”  
He looked at Georgette, whose voice was hard as the mountains outside. “No?”  
She shook her long locks. “Those shitheads forced us to make vids, telling our friends and families that we’d run off and other damned lies. We might hear Leela but we won’t know if she’s not being coerced.”  
“I understand. I only meant to reassure you.”  
He hit the link and the deep voice of Nesh answered right away. “ERE Team Gamma.”  
“Imdiko Frell, Captain. I have found two of the Mataras. Georgette and Rainy are their names.”  
Frell heard a happy squeal in the background. He grinned as Leela came on the link. “Frell! You really found Rainy and Georgette? You doll!”  
He chuckled. “I am honored that they are with me. They wish to join you but they’re understandably nervous about me and my intentions.”  
“Rains? George? Isn’t he a dream? Lucky Bethers, huh?” She became more serious. “I want you to know that the road to Islinn is south of here.”  
Frell knew a code when he heard one, and this one was blatant. Islinn wasn’t anywhere near here, let alone south. He looked to his two guests. Their faces didn’t betray much.  
“I really, really mean it, you guys.” Leela’s voice was firm.  
Georgette finally smiled. “Thanks, Leels. We aim all rice cakes.”  
Frell looked to Rainy and she nodded. He spoke into the com. “Captain Nesh, these women need to reach safety soon. I don’t know how many others of their abductors are out trying to retake the Mataras or if they're close by. Is there a place I can meet you so they can join Matara Leela and the others?”  
“Damn,” Nesh rumbled. “I’ve sent out every shuttle I have. We want to get them all to safety as soon as possible, too. Could you bring them to us here, Imdiko?”  
Frell rubbed a hand over his face. Leave his post while Rejan and Zan were still scouting? He looked at the women at the table and bit his lip. There was nowhere else they could go and he couldn’t abandon them here. He also couldn’t take them along if he needed to get to his clan and Bethany.  
“I’ll be there as fast as I can.”  
“Many thanks, Imdiko Frell.”  
Frell broke the link and looked at the women. “Trust me to get you to safety?”  
“Leela vouched for you,” Georgette said.  
Rainy smiled. “Let’s blast.”  
He had them up in seconds flat and swung the shuttle around to return down the mountain. He prayed his loved ones didn’t need him soon. It would double the time needed to get up to them as it would have from the clearing.  
He was doing the right thing, he knew, but if it cost them their darling girl, he’d never forgive himself. He flicked the switch and the shuttle sped out over the trees, back toward Oakhurst.  
Away from those he loved most.


	9. Chapter Ten

ALIEN HEART  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Ten

 

Larke stared out at him from the trees for a long moment, blue eyes dark and sad. The pain of seeing her sooty dress and singed hair almost staggered Rejan. Smoke drifted on the wind, its acrid scent an accusation all its own. Faced with her ghost, or whatever this was, Rejan struggled to recall all that Bethany had said about what had happened. That he hadn’t been wrong in his assessment of his relationship with Larke: a union between them would have been disastrous. That he hadn’t set the fire that had trapped her and her father and sent them to their deaths. That he had been young and therefore fairly stupid.  
Larke’s presence took all that away. All he felt was horror and guilt. All he could think was that he’d failed her. He’d been too wound up in his own needs and wishes to be there for her when she needed him the most. He almost groaned aloud as the smoke tickled around his senses. He had failed Bethany now, too. He had been so wrapped up in his own self-importance as Dramok to his clan, he’d been ready to believe the worst of her. He’d ignored the feelings of his Nobek and his Imdiko because he thought he knew what was best for everyone.  
Now the woman he knew he truly loved, who was the beloved of his clanmates, was out of reach, alone, and in danger. Would he be too late this time, too? Was that the message from Larke’s ghost?  
The smoke. The woods. The mountains...  
Rejan stiffened. He sniffed the air as he came to a halt on the trail. The smell of smoke was faint, but unmistakeable. Wood smoke. Real, not ghostly. Was there a cabin nearby? He looked to his pyro-tech Nobek. Zan, too, was sniffing the air.  
Zan was studying the landscape. “Campfire or fireplace? I doubt it’s a forest fire.”  
Rejan found his focus. “Could be either. But it’s blowing from over there, just over that ridge.”  
“Wood burning means humans. Earthers.”  
“What does the trail tell you?”  
Zan waved down a fork at the left of the trail they were on. “This shows recent travel.”  
“Away from the ridge?”  
He shrugged. “I’d say we chance it.”  
“Lead the way.”  
Rejan was relieved to be running, out of his trance of guilt. They took the fork and ran for a mile or so, then pulled up at Zan’s signal. Rejan looked at him, one brow raised.  
“Blood.”  
No. No, please. Not her blood.  
Rejan watched, breath held, as Zan tracked over the rocky path. He leapt down one side of a hill and gave a low whistle. Rejan raced to his side. The Nobek was bending down, holding a rock. It was very clearly stained with dried blood. Rejan felt his throat close but made himself ask the question.  
“Bethany’s?”  
Zan sniffed the stain, then sniffed all around him. He lifted his head, his eyes almost black. He nodded. “I remember the scent from when she hurt her hands the first day we met her.”  
“But no more blood? That’s all of it?”  
“We’ll see. They were here though. And Bethany was hurt. There may have been a fight. See the scuffs here and there?”  
“Yes...shit.” Rejan ran ahead, eyes on the ground. “These are her footprints. She’s dragging one leg.”  
Zan’s face was now deadly still. He faced down the trail. Rejan knew his Nobek was throttling his fury, holding himself in check so that his impulse to murder didn’t overtake his ability to track and find their Matara. With one accord, they began to run.  
Damn it all. He wouldn’t fail her. He wouldn’t lose another lover in these mountains. Let Larke haunt him, but he was not going to allow Bethany to become a ghost. He would not allow his arrogance to cost them their tart-tongued, tender-hearted, delectable little female. She’d been abandoned more than once in her life, he knew. He wasn’t going to add to those losses.  
She was his, dammit. No one else was going to lay claim to her.  
His fangs dropped as anger boiled up in him. She’d been hurt, shed her blood out here. He was ready to do whatever it took to find her and shelter from harm forever.  
He looked over at his Nobek. He too, had his fangs extended. Bethany’s abductors would be in shreds before they would let them go.  
#  
“Was that the first time you’ve killed someone?”  
Frell looked up from the console as Rainy came to stand near him. He looked up to meet her eyes, which were no longer angry and suspicious, but concerned.  
“No, it was not. I had to kill once before. When we were running blockades during the war with Earth. We got trapped on a colony and had to fight our way to our ship. I killed a Pogreq, one of Earth’s allies, at least as long as the Pogreqi could make a profit off the war.” Frell felt his chest tighten at the memory. “He had been about to slit my Dramok’s throat.”  
“You kill for love.”  
Frell tilted his head. “How so?”  
“You killed for your Dramok’s sake. You killed today for the sake of Bethany. Because you love her. Not because you love to kill.”  
“I wasn’t about to let those bastards retake any of you who were kidnapped.”  
“That’s love, too.”  
Frell eyed her carefully. “You’ve killed for love?”  
Her jaw tightened. “A man tried to rape my little brother.”  
“You did the universe a favor.”  
One shoulder rose. “Maybe. I just didn’t realize that killing that asshole would stick with me. He wasn’t worth the air he breathed but now he’s gone and I have to face that I took another’s life.”  
“For love of your brother.”  
“Yeah.”  
He looked at the miles clicking by. “A life is a life. If we felt nothing at all, we’d be no better than animals. Like the animal you killed.”  
She gave him a faint smile. “Thank you.”  
“You are welcome, brave one.”  
She moved away and went to sit beside Georgette once more. They leaned against one another and Frell nodded. Love was all, wasn’t it?  
He set the landing program. They would be back at the conference center in minutes. He was glad he’d helped Rainy and Georgette, but he had to get back to his post. He felt for his com. Not there.  
“Matara Georgette? I need my com unit. I need to check on my clanmates.”  
She brought it to him at once but she was frowning. “I’m not sure it’s going to work all that well. It’s cracked.”  
Damn. It must have hit a rock when he’d tossed it out to fool the hunters. Still, it had worked when they needed access to the shuttle. He pressed Rejan’s link.  
Nothing. Shit! He tried again. Crackles and hisses. Double-shit. There was no more time to fuss over it. They needed to land.  
They touched down without incident, aided by a Rescue team member on the ground with a light stick. Frell went out the hatch and helped the Mataras jump down. He escorted them into the conference center and was relieved to see that all the cages and instruments of torture had been removed. There were already six Mataras besides Leela sitting at one of the tables, eating hungrily. A tall Kalquorian with a silver streak in his black braid strode up and bowed.    
“Imdiko Frell?”  
“Yes.”  
“I’m Nesh. You did us a great favor.”  
“Us too,” Georgette put in with a grin.  
Frell bowed deeply. “It truly was an honor, Matara Georgette, Matara Rainy. I hope our paths cross again in much happier circumstances.” He turned to Captain Nesh as an attendant hurried up to welcome the women and guide them across the room to the tables. Squeals and cheers rose as the other women bounced up to greet the newcomers.  
“They’ll be treated well?”  
Nesh nodded. “We will do all we can. We hope many of them will return with us to Kalquor but we’re offering them passage to Plasius, as well.”  
“They are an amazing species.” Frell lifted his cracked com unit. “If I could, might I have the use of one of--”  
Before he could finish speaking, Nesh handed over his own com unit. “I have another. You’ll need this, I know.”  
Frell mated the two units and extracted his data out of the damaged com. He immediately linked to Rejan’s com.  
“My Imdiko. Is everything all right?”  
“I’m fine. Do you need me?”  
“Not yet. But we will soon, I’m thinking. We’ll be in touch.”  
“I--” But Rejan had already cut the link. Frell turned and bowed to Nesh. “Thank you, Captain. For all your help and for caring for these women. I have to get back.”  
Nesh returned his bow. “We’ve found over half of the women, according to the Mataras we have here. There are more on their way in. We’ll have shuttles available soon. Com us at once if you need our aid. We’ll get to your clan, no matter what.”  
Frell nodded his appreciation, turned and ran for the shuttle. He climbed in and set the command for takeoff.  
“Shit!” The dial on his console blinked, informing him his charge level was almost at zero.  
He barreled out of the hatch and raced back to the conference center.  
#  
The cabin came suddenly into view and Zan and Rejan had to duck back under the trees. Rejan could see a shuttle, badly dented along the side, parked by the vine-choked structure. Wood smoke billowed from the cabin’s chimney. It had been real.  
He signaled to Zan and they ran, more silent than the wind, some distance and out of sight from the cabin. He felt a jolt of excitement but mastered himself quickly.  
Zan’s look was sharp. “You think she’s there?”  
Rejan nodded. “Yes. I know that’s not much to go on, but the trail leads here. I think we have to have a look.”  
“Let’s get in closer, then you can give me a boost.”  
They made their way in silence to the eaves of the woods nearest the cabin. Rejan bent, laced his hands. Zan stepped up and went flying into the heights of the tall pine. He easily snagged a branch and began to climb. Rejan watched, then squatted behind a tall stump, settling in to study the house as Zan did aerial reconnaissance, so to speak.  
Leela had said there were fifteen kidnappers. If he guessed right, two of those had been taken out by a bear. That left thirteen. Not terrible odds, but he didn’t know what weapons the Earthers had or if they’d met up with any more of their compatriots. What he did know was that these men already had Bethany as a hostage and wouldn’t hesitate to use her as a shield if they were threatened. They had to be cautious.  
Zan came swinging down and landed with a surprisingly quiet thud on the soft forest floor. Rejan went to meet him and they again pulled far back out of sight of the cabin.  
“There are six of them that I could see. They’re inside, eating. The windows of the house are wired with either alarms or weapons, perhaps both. It looks like they ran into some trouble with their shuttle, it may not be working. I saw tools lying near it on the ground.”  
“Bethany?”  
He shook his head. “I didn’t see her. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to search this place. These men look too much like the ones Matara Leela described to you.”  
Rejan rubbed his mouth. “We don’t know what other weapons they have or if there are more inside that we can’t see. Or more on their way. They may even have more Mataras inside, hidden. We have to go about this carefully.”  
“Let’s move off,” Zan said. “I’m not comfortable this close. Let’s find cover.”  
“Then I’ll com Frell.”  
“Are you sure we should bring him into this?”  
“I think he’s our best hope. We have to get in and get out and neither you nor I can fly like our damned Imdiko.”  
Zan shot him a small smile. “True.” His head dipped. “After what I did to him, I owe him my trust, at least.”  
Rejan hurried along the deer-track. “He’s long since forgiven you for that, my Nobek. You stood your punishment and that was that. Frell would be insulted if you were moved only by shame to include him.”  
“Yes. I see. Thanks.”  
After a moment, Rejan snickered. “We have a damned Imdiko and a mean Matara.”  
“And a stick up the butt Nobek.”  
“And I’m an asshat rat bastard Dramok.” Rejan cast a sardonic look at his clanmate. “We’re a fine clan.”  
Zan shrugged. “I like us.”  
Rejan laughed, amazed he could find any joy in their situation. They swung along until they found a cluster of huge rocks. They found the center and slipped in, chasing a lizard and a vole out of hiding.  
“Are you all right?” Zan asked. “This is damned familiar. A cabin in the Sierras. Your love trapped inside. Earthers surrounding it.”  
Rejan nodded slowly. Larke had walked past him on the trail more than once since they had smelled smoke. He didn’t like to admit this weakness. He gathered his courage and faced his clanmate.  
“This is different,” he said softly. “I have you. I have Frell. And Bethany is not Larke.” He breathed deeply. “I won’t fail this time.”  
“Damn right, you won’t.”  
Rejan almost smiled but the time for smiling was past. He opened the com link and hit Frell’s connection. He waited. He tried a second time, then scowled. “No answer.”  
“Keep trying. Things are flukey here.”  
Rejan tried three more times. Nothing. He felt a cold ball in his stomach. His Matara and his Imdiko both missing? He wanted to roar, but he knew that would serve no purpose other than to fuel his panic and anger.  
“We can’t leave.”  
Rejan nodded. “I’ll try again in a bit.”  
His gut hated the idea.


	10. Chapter Eleven

ALIEN HEART, Part II  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Eleven

 

Bethany rolled to the side and put out a hand to help herself get up off the bed. She’d lost track of time, drifting in and out of feverish dreams. Now Butch waited at her bedside, big hands slapping at his jeans, impatient.    
“Come on. Jeez, how long does it take to get out of bed?”  
I’m doing my best, she wanted to plead but she knew it didn’t matter to Butthead Butch. He just wanted to get this over with. Taking her to the bathroom, which happened twice a day—if she was lucky—was a chore that Mike’s Brigade seemed to view as punishment. She wondered what ole Butchy-boy had done to merit taking their pain in the ass prisoner on a potty break. Probably some breach of Butthead Etiquette, like using the wrong spork at the dinner table. She almost giggled.  
She sobered quickly. Skipper Mike had been growing crankier and less confident with every day they spent at the cabin. Were they having more trouble finding the missing women than he'd imagined? She sincerely hoped that was the case.  
She managed to get upright and started the long shuffle out the door and down the hall, Butch huffing in exasperation every time she slowed or had to put out a hand to brace herself. The ever-present pain in her side throbbed dully and the cut in her leg from the break was clearly infected. She eased into the bathroom and cautiously undid her jeans.  
“Hell, I didn’t sign up for this.” Butch stood in the doorway. “I ain’t lookin’ at some pampered little bitch while she goes.” He pointed to the window. “Don’t even think about trying to get out. You’re only gonna fall and break both legs if you do. You'll be worse if the skipper catches you tryin' it.” He went out the door. “I’m gonna be right outside. You better be done in three.”  
She nodded and sighed in relief as he closed the door. When she was finished, she stood, righted her clothing and moved to the washstand. She looked around at the grime. A house full of men and none of them knew how to clean a bathroom. Couldn’t cook, either. Kalquorian males would smirk at the idea of men being unable to care for themselves. She washed and quickly found a semi-clean washrag to do some of the rest of her body. She leaned in and drank deeply from the tap, then splashed more water on her heated face and neck.  
She straightened and looked around. She was sick and she might not survive. She had to find a way to get out of here. She ignored the pain and hurried to the window. Butch was right. It was a straight drop, two stories down. She wouldn’t make it, even if her game leg would support her clambering over the sill.  
Looking around, she tried to spot something, anything she could use as a weapon against her guard. She had seconds left to brace herself but she made it and was ready when Butch opened the door.  
“What the—”  
His cry was cut off as she shoved the handle of the plumber’s helper crossways across his windpipe, throwing all her weight into the effort. Butch toppled backward and landed on his ass. She barely caught her balance, but didn’t hesitate. In a flash, she raised the lid to the old-fashioned toilet tank and brought it down square on his forehead. He whooped in a breath, then passed out cold, blood beginning to flow down his face.  
The surge of adrenaline helped her get moving. She clutched the plumber’s helper—the tank lid was too heavy to lug with her—and limp-hopped to the stairs. She hung back at the top and listened. All was quiet below and she guessed most of the brigade was out hunting her sister captives. Still, she went stealthily, bracing her weight on the bannister, with only a brief, backward glance to be certain Butch wasn’t up and ready to follow her. She wasn’t sure he was breathing, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. He was down and out and she needed to run.  
She made it to the bottom of the stairs and went as silently as she could over the old, creaky wood floors. She made it to the living room and held her breath, listening. Ten more steps brought her to the front door. She reached it, swung it open.  
“What the fuck?”  
Bastard Mike had her in an iron grip before she could raise her weapon. He gave her wrist a vicious twist and she dropped the plumber’s helper with a gasp of pain.  
“Butch!” Mike dragged her inside, kicking the door shut behind them. “Get the fuck in here, you worthless waste of space!”  
She hung in his grip, sick with disappointment and pain. She had made the effort, at least. But when Mike found what she'd done to Butch, her days might be numbered.  
Pete came on the run from the back of the house. “What’s up?”  
“This little cunt was headed out the door when I came in, that’s what’s up! Where the fucking hell is fucking Butch?”  
Pete shook his head. “Dunno. I’ll check upstairs.”  
“Damn straight you will.”  
Travis sauntered in as Pete thumped up the stairs. He looked with shock at Bethany. “How the hell—”  
Veins pulsed in Mike’s neck. “Never mind that. Find Butch.”  
“Shit!” Pete’s shout from above halted both men.  
“Go see what’s up, Trav.”  
Travis took off up the stairs. Mike shook Bethany, making every sore spot flare red-hot. “You’re gonna wish you hadn’t tried this, you little ape-fucker. Your bitch friends are still running around out there, making us chase them and we don’t have time for that!”  
Dimly, Bethany felt relief that more of the others had gotten away but pain and fear were overtaking her. Mike wasn’t going to like that she’d cold-cocked one of his buddies with a chunk of toilet.  
Pete appeared halfway down the stairs. “Think you better come, Skipper.”  
“Shit. Come on.”  
He yanked Bethany along, heedless of her stumbling on her bad leg. He hauled her up the stairs by one arm and shoved her ahead of him when they reached the landing.  
“She got ‘im good, Skipper.” Travis the Troll was kneeling down beside Butch’s still form. “Cracked his skull.”  
Mike roared. “Fuck! Stupid son of a fucking stupid bitch couldn’t keep his eye on one little cunt! Now I’ve got her a crip and him with what? A concussion?”  
“Maybe. He’s still bleedin’ and he’s still out.”  
“Can’t anybody around here do anything right? I gotta do everything myself?” Mike dragged Bethany past Butch and Pete and into her room. He shoved her and she staggered forward, landing on her knees. She bit her lip to keep from shrieking.  
“Get the hell up. Get on the bed.”  
She managed to crawl to the bed and haul herself up. She had barely settled on the edge when Mike backhanded her. He was immediately in her face, furious.  
“You think you’re getting away from me? You think you can outsmart me? Not gonna happen, beast-fucker. You’re gonna be so damn sorry you messed with me and my crew.”  
She was already good and sorry. She kept that thought to herself. Tears were welling up at the pain but she fisted them back. She wasn’t going to cry in front of this gurluck.  
Mike grabbed her hair and yanked so her face was turned up to his. Malice gleamed in his eyes and he put teeth into his every word.  
“You’re not getting out of this alive, Bethany Bitch. When I deliver you to my pal, I’m gonna take a front row seat while he puts you through your paces. You think you’re in pain now? He’s gonna take his time and flay you alive, bit by bit. And I'm gonna cheer every time his whip connects with your little bitch body!”  
She just stared at him as coolly as she could. He was in earnest, she knew. Whoever this buyer friend of his was, he was crueler than the Tragooms, who might rape and kill and eat their victims but they did it fast, ready to move on to the next victim as soon as possible. This buyer sounded like an old-world, hardcore, sadist. Medieval dungeon style.  
She was saved from thinking any further scary thoughts when Travis shouted for Mike.  
“I’ll get there when I get there, dammit!” Mike bellowed.  
He pulled a length of rope from his pocket and began to bind her hands to the headboard of the bed. He wasn’t solicitous about her circulation, either.  
“You better pray we get back all our merchandise undamaged and that you bring a good price. If you don’t, I’m gonna do you myself and you’ll be begging for my pal to take you.”  
He shoved her down on the bed and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him. She heard him setting the locking controls and then his feet stomping down the hall.  
She licked her lips. She was bleeding from where he’d struck her. She struggled up, squirming to find a position that wasn’t entirely miserable. It wasn’t much, but she managed.  
She heard more heavy thumping, men’s voices, then quiet. It sounded like they’d dragged Butch down the stairs, feet first, arguing the whole way. She guessed they'd taken him to one of the rooms at the back of the house. From outside, she heard the sound of a cranky shuttle starting up and then caught the flash of the ship as it barreled past her window.  
Where were they going now? Were those hunters going after her sister runaways? Or were they actually going to get help for their injured comrade? She snorted. It was doubtful that Mike would spring for medical care, not with women still out there, getting farther away by the moment. He wasn’t going to lose time or money on someone who’d had the stupidity to let an injured female sneak up and brain him, almost letting her escape.  
How many of the women had they retaken so far? She should watch for their return but then remembered she couldn’t get up to see out the window. She twisted the ropes around her wrists, testing to see if there was any give or weak spots. She just ended up with chafed skin. The rope was new and the skipper evidently knew his knots.  
She sighed and eased back. A lovely memory drifted in, how Rejan had once taken her hand and led her out to the patio at twilight. He’d brought out silken ropes and wound them in intricate patterns around her naked body, knotting them smoothly and yet firmly. His eyes had been plum-colored as he'd worked and she'd shivered as inch by inch, she’d been rendered into a living work of art that was also helpless and vulnerable to his desires. Zan and Frell had come out to watch, their own purple eyes brilliant with excitement at the sight of their playmate being bound so perfectly and temptingly. All three of them had taken turns, tormenting her and taking her to wild heights of glory. Afterward, when they’d cut the ropes and freed her, they’d kissed and caressed every tiny mark left by the ropes, then had carried her to the bathing pool and spoiled her rotten with pampering. It had been bliss. Each time she'd given something to them, each time she'd submitted, they'd given back twice as much in care and tenderness.  
Exhaustion began to overtake her. She fought to stay awake. She didn’t want to be taken off-guard by the Brigade. Her situation was growing worse by the hour. She had to be ready in case another chance to escape came her way.  
But she was so, so tired.


	11. Chapter Twelve

ALIEN HEART, Part II  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Twelve 

 

Frell got the starter fixed and raced back to the hatch. Half the day gone! He vaulted into the shuttle and checked all the controls. Nesh stood just outside, the tall Kalquorian able to peer in through the entry.  
“Everything’s online.”  
Nesh nodded. “Be sure and com. I will do what I can to help.”  
“Thank you.”  
Nesh slapped a hand on the side of the ship and Frell nodded goodbye. The captain was a good man and he hoped his team found all the missing women. Frell closed the hatch and set his course. Then, all of the frantic work of the past hours was out of his thoughts as he lifted up over the trees and headed east once more. He pressed the com unit Nesh had given him and opened the link to Rejan. To his joy, his Dramok responded at once.  
Rejan got right to the point. “What happened?”  
“I encountered a group of assholes stalking two Mataras just beyond the trees where I was waiting. I took care of the assholes, but the Mataras had no place safe and no one to come get them, so I took them to Oakhurst. Got delayed with shuttle problems. My apologies for leaving my post, my Dramok.”  
“It’s all right. We were just worried.”  
“Bethany?”  
“We’ve found a cabin where we believe these gurlucks are holed up. We’re sure they took her there. Lock onto my position and approach one mile southwest. Do not clear the ridge with the shuttle. We’ll come meet you.”  
“On my way.”  
Frell logged in the coordinates and opened the shuttle full power. He zoomed up the mountain. His focus, his being, had narrowed to one tiny point on his nav screen. He found a nearby clearing and put down. Rejan and Zan slid out of their hiding places in the trees and raced to the ship. They climbed aboard and Frell set up the cloaking system.  
They filled Frell in as they ate a hasty meal together. Then, they planned. By the time the sun was sinking behind them, they were satisfied. All they needed was the cover of night.  
#  
Bethany twisted on the bed. Her leg throbbed. The pain in her side gnawed at her, too, and she wished she’d saved back one of the pain inhibitors from her last dose.  
The wound in her leg was worsening. At first, the place where the skin was broken had been hot and swollen. Infected, most likely. Now, her whole leg felt that way. She prayed the damage to her kidney wouldn’t impair her body’s ability to fight back.  
If she could persuade Mike she was ready to cooperate, to go along peaceably, maybe he’d take her to a hospital so she could get treatment. Without it, the infection would deepen and she might well lose the leg or worse. She’d beg if she had to; she wasn’t ready to die. She didn’t like to think what the capricious Mike and his crew would demand in return for getting her medical aid, though. She doubted they wanted to try to sell her when she was in this state. They wouldn’t get nearly enough money for her.  
She slammed her fist onto the bed. “No, goddammit! I’m not going to crawl to these gurlucks!” She grimaced. She wasn’t sure she could crawl, her leg was so bad.  
She glanced around the room for the hundredth time. A paper plate, a pair of socks, and an old rag she’d used to wash with, were all she spied. Not really anything she could work with if she wanted to subdue them. What about the window-glass? No, they’d explode, just like the doors if anyone without the code tried to get out. Besides, she was still trussed to the bed and there was no way she could drag the heavy iron cot across the room with her.  
The sun was low in the sky. The Buttheads were coming home to roost, she thought with a snort. Another day of hunting their targets had come to an end. Had they found Lydia? Denise? Any of the others? Would they bring them up here if they did?  
She listened to the sounds of the men talking and preparing a meal. The smell of burnt things told her they were as handy with an Earther cooker as they had been with the Kalquorian model on the ship. She sniffed. The scent should make her hungry all the same, but it didn’t. The idea of food just made her queasy. She wanted water more than food. They wouldn’t come to feed her until they were done, though. More waiting.  
A shout rose from below, along with some hoarse cheering. What the hell were they doing now? Celebrating? Well, it made sense if they’d had a successful day’s hunt. They were going to collect well over half a million dollars a head for each of them. Mike and his buddies were going to be rich men. They’d grow richer still if they recruited others to return to Plasius and other colonies and drag women back to Earth. That would be something to celebrate, wouldn’t it, in their twisted world?  
Damn, I hope they rot. I hope Tragooms find them and eat their miserable―  
There was more shouting, muffled through the thick walls and windows of her room. She wanted to roll over and look, but her stomach was doing barrel-rolls and her leg had gone past gnawing and was into vicious biting territory. Her strength was failing.  
She spotted a water pouch on the floor near the bed. She eased her good--well, better anyway--leg over the side, found it, and grunting with pain, tried to flip it up and onto the bed. Nothing. It was too slippery. No relief of any kind was coming her way.  
Her head began to pound and last light from the windows began to waver and blend, like heat over a desert road. She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. Her body was well and truly pissed off but at least it was fighting back. But for how long? She sagged into the lumpy mattress, her ears buzzing shrilly. Maybe she wouldn’t have to deal with the Earthers, after all. Maybe she’d cheat them all by simply dying here. Tears slipped down her face. Her wonderful men were gone. They’d died because of her. Wasn’t it about time she joined them?  
The buzzing in her ears grew louder. Her stomach roiled. She felt the world sliding away. That was all right. She would sleep and that would be that. Yes, sleeep was bessst...  
“Time to wake up.”  
She batted at the hand that was shaking her and sank deeper into the fog that was so welcoming. No. No more. No more Earthers. No more Earth for her.  
“Sweet one, I need you to look at me.”  
Someone lifted her shoulders and her pain came howling back. She beat at the man. It had to be Mike. He was pawing at her everywhere, the shithead.  
“No!” She shoved at him but he wouldn’t stop.  
“Bethany, you will stop fighting!”  
That voice! That deep, bossy, growl... Her eyes flew open and Rejan was there, leaning over her and glaring.  
“Rejan?” she asked weakly. He nodded, eyebrow raised. Typical Dramok. What was he—  
“Precious girl, you have to stay awake.”  
Zan! It was Zan who was holding her, feeling her everywhere, checking her, while Rejan stood over them both. Her bonds had already been cut. She flung her arms around the Nobek and shook in his strong, warm embrace.  
“Matara.” He kissed her neck, her hair. “My Matara, I was so worried.”  
She pulled back with a cry. “The men! The Earthers! They’re just outside!”  
“That’s all right. We can handle them. Let’s get you out of here.”  
Zan scooped her up. She howled with the pain and suddenly there were fangs piercing her neck and shoulder. Zan and Rejan held her there for what seemed an eternity before the magic of their bites took over and the agony of her leg receded.  
“You can’t,” she mumbled. “Doors and windows. Trap.” She dragged her reluctant mind up from the spreading euphoria that was overtaking her. “Explode if you try...get out.”  
Rejan grinned. “We’re not leaving by the door.” He pointed upward. A man-sized hole had been cut in the ceiling.  
Zan spoke into his com. “Now.”  
She shrieked and dove as the ceiling blew off. Zan kept her tucked under his body. The sounds of a hovering shuttle filled the air overhead. Dust billowed in through the now-gaping hole and she began to choke. Zan placed a soft mask over her mouth and nose and gathered her close to his chest.  
Rejan was fastening a sling around her. “Bethany, my little love, you’re going to have to hold on to the straps. Can you do that?”  
“Ohh, purple eyes,” she cooed. “I’m so sick of brown, blue, and gray.  
“Up you go, sweetest.” Rejan kissed her tenderly on her cheek, then shifted her upward. Zan boosted her further, and suddenly they let go and she was sailing up and out of her prison, hoisted by the sling around her thighs and torso. She swung out in an arc and almost tipped forward, losing her balance. She grabbed out of instinct and caught hold of a strap suspended from back of the sling.  
She clung to it for dear life, staring up at the open hatch in the shuttle’s gleaming silver hull. Frell’s beaming face appeared in the lighted hatchway and she cried out in joy.  
They were alive, all of them! They had come for her. It was almost too much to believe.  
Frell hauled her in through the hatch and unfastened her from the sling, bracing her so her weight was off her injured leg. He pulled off her mask, then took her into his arms and kissed her, quick and hard, before lowering the sling out the hatch again.  
She clung to Frell and watched in awe as Rejan came up from the hole in the roof, hanging on to the sling and kicking out so that the cable swung. In two big pumps, he was out over the eaves. He dropped to the ground and before Bethany could utter a sound, he was running for the front of the house, flinging the line behind him for Zan to snag.  
Zan followed Rejan to the ground, then took off in the opposite direction. Frell lowered a package out the door, then hit the retractor button so the empty sling zoomed up through the opening. The hatch closed with a whoosh. Frell lowered her to the floor and dashed for the cockpit.  
“Just like Tarzan.” She slumped dreamily and wrapped her arms around the leg of the seat. “Tarzans Meet the Buttheads.” She snickered. “Me Jane.”  
Bethany sat on the floor of the shuttle and held on as Frell steered the craft up and out, away from the house in the clearing. He switched on the vid system and she yelped as she saw three of the men bearing down on Rejan near the porch, blasters raised. The Imdiko turned the ship to swerve away, back over the trees to the north.  
“Frell! You have to help him!”  
“Don’t worry sweet. He’ll be fine. He has Zan with him and there are only eight of the Earthers.”  
“No, Frell! There are ten! Maybe more!”  
“Really?” He grinned at her over his shoulder. “Can you hang on, my Matara? You’re not in too much pain?”  
“Zan and Rejan bit me big-time.”  
“Perfect! Relax and let us take out the trash.”  
She had to lie down or the swinging of the shuttle as it came about would have made her cough up the very last of her stomach contents. She peered down at the twilit scene below. More Earthers were pouring out of the basement of the house, like ants boiling up out of a nest. So that was where they were holed up!  
She saw Rejan dive, roll, and dodge a rain of blaster fire. He was up the post and on the roof of the porch in a blink. His knife flashed out and caught one of the men directly in the temple. He pulled another and leaped out into space. He came down on top of the second man, a flesh-covered boulder ploughing him into the ground. His knife flashed and Bethany had to look away as blood spurted from the Earther’s neck in a wide arc.  
When she looked again, Rejan was on his feet, ready to fight the third man. Two more of Mike’s crew, the ones from the basement, rounded the corner. They charged, and while they had no guns, they carried wickedly sharp axes and even a scythe. Dust rose in the fading light.  
Frell swooped closer. He pressed a button and flares of hot pink light shot through the air, then cut through two of Rejan’s opponents. They toppled. Rejan took out the last man and raised his bloody knife in salute to his Imdiko. Frell laughed and lifted the shuttle away, tracking over the roof.  
“Zan!” Bethany cried weakly. Where was he? Her breath caught. “What is he doing?”  
Her Nobek was racing around the outside of the house, drawing a giant ring of something iridescent purple in the dirt. When the circle was complete, he took out an igniter, touched the ring, then leapt back.  
A ring of flames shot for the darkening sky, walling in the cabin and all its inhabitants, shutting out Zan. The fire reached almost ten feet high, forming a solid, blazing barrier. Trees around the ring caught fire but she noted the fire did not spread outward. It was going inward, toward the cabin. The fire was bright and heat made the air quaver. A pair of Buttheads ran for the water faucet but Rejan met them and knocked them aside, making them fly across the yard, perilously close to the fire-ring. They landed, stunned.  
In that moment, a huge, dark form stepped right through the wall of flames and came striding across the yard. Bethany opened her mouth to scream.  
#


	12. Chapter Thirteen

ALIEN HEART, Part II  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Thirteen

Bethany’s cry caught in her throat. She gasped, then gaped, shivering. She knew who it was but it was hard to take it in, it was so strange and awe-inspiring.  
Zan was like some god out of an old story, impervious to fire, bent on vengeance, fury in his eyes. Outlined against the wall of flames he looked huge and savage, ready to rip apart anyone who crossed his path. Blood would be the only offering he would accept. He strode forward, crossing the yard with measured strides.   
One of the men scrambled to his feet, screaming. He turned and ran straight into Rejan. He bounced off the Dramok and hit the ground, blood pouring from the open wound in his throat. She hadn’t even seen Rejan move. Zan moved in and using his knife, began to sweep the enemy back toward the fire. Rejan joined him, both of the big men stalking their prey, circling them, both Kalquorians driving the Earthers up against the blaze. More men went to the aid of the crew.   
Frell gave a quick yelp and the shuttle tipped left. They began to climb.  
“No, Frell! Don’t leave them!”  
He tapped the controls. “Have to, my love. We’ve got company.”  
She looked out the view port over the cockpit, struck dumb. An Earther drone was bearing down on them from the west, making straight for the shuttle. Gangs? More Buttheads? Two men alone, even if they were her Zan and Rejan, couldn’t withstand an air attack and fresh troops landing to join the fight.   
She cast a look down at the battle below as Frell took them up so quickly, her stomach dropped. The last of the men on the ground, Mike in the lead, were charging the two Kalquorians. She saw Zan turn and in a blur, run directly at Mike. She imagined she could hear the Earth bastard’s shriek as the warrior hit him full force and took him to the ground, fangs buried in his neck. She gulped at the sudden fountain of blood from the Eather’s neck. Then the shuttle was over the trees and she saw nothing but the light and the smoke and the drone gaining on them.   
Frell pushed the shuttle up and up, toward the glowing moon. She could see the drone below, tracking them. They were trying to lock them into their sights. They’d never escape.   
“Hold on!” Frell yelled to her.   
Hold on? She couldn’t do anything else.   
The shuttle made a whirl that almost dislodged Bethany’s grip on the seat. Her leg protested, dully. Between the bites that had eased the pain and her own adrenaline keeping her alert, she was managing to keep her place and not go sliding into the side of the hull. But what was--  
“Here we go!”  
She tried to yell but again couldn’t get a sound out of her throat. Frell was diving right for the Earther drone and at the rate of acceleration he was pushing, they would make impact in a heartbeat. She prayed it wouldn’t be her last one, not now she knew her beloved Kalquorians were alive. She bent all her thoughts, frayed as they were, on Frell’s successful flight. It looked insane but she trusted her beloved.   
The sleek little shuttle raced for the ugly drone. Bethany was sure she could see the Earthers inside grinning in preparation for the kill. Just as they reached firing range, Frell dropped the shuttle, flipped it belly up, then shot under the other craft. As soon as he was on the other side, he whirled the ship again, fired on the drone, and pink light took it out in an instant. Bethany felt like a tether ball, swinging around the seat and even flipping up in the air.   
Frell righted them, then steered quickly out of the path of the flying debris. He nimbly piloted them around, heading back toward the fire. She knew he was also scouting for any other Earthers who might be coming to the aid of her captors.   
The sight below was a pitted battlefield, bodies scattered everywhere, the ground scoured and scorched from blaster fire. Several trees around the perimeter were ablaze and Bethany prayed hard that Zan and Rejan were all right.   
“There they are,” Frell called out cheerfully. “Standing around like lazy gashas.”  
Her heart lurched and then thumped with relief and joy. It was over. Zan and Rejan waved at the shuttle from where they were drinking casually from a garden hose. Zan motioned to Frell above, and Frell began to slowly trace around the fiery circle. Pale blue foam shot from below the shuttle and the fire was extinguished in seconds. He aimed some at the burning trees and they, too, went out like candles. Another of Zan’s creations; she loved it. No forest fires today. Her own personal fire ranger had it handled.   
She peered down at the blackened yard. The sight of so many fallen, bloody, and even crispy Buttheads shocked her, then she shook it off. They should never have messed with her clan.  
Frell put down at the edge of the charred clearing and released the hatch. Rejan and Zan were now using the hose to wash―oh, God―all the blood off their bodies. They scrubbed themselves for several minutes, then, shrugging, they stripped off their stained boots and formsuits and tossed them away. Her two magnificent lovers rinsed off and came striding for the shuttle, utterly naked and utterly gorgeous, droplets glinting off their dark forms in the moonlight.  
Frell called out the hatch. “Get in. We have to get Bethany out to the transport.”  
They hustled on board and surrounded her there on the floor. Zan had her in his arms in a blink and Rejan was kissing her hands and hair.   
Frell got them airborne and once they were far enough up to be safer, he motioned to Rejan to come and take the helm. He got his first aid kit and came to kneel beside her and Zan. To her shock, Zan snarled at him and dropped his fangs. Frell didn’t seem surprised but he spoke softly.  
“My Nobek, I have to examine her. You hold her, of course, but I have to get to her to see what’s been done to our girl.”  
Zan held her tighter. She could hear his heart racing against her chest. He was shaking! She put her hand up to his cheek. “Please. I’m hurt, but I’ll be fine. I just need Frell to check me.”  
Finally, Zan slowly released her and turned her gently to face Frell. She sighed and leaned back against him. Frell cut away the filthy splint Pete the Prick had fastened on her and examined her leg. Zan buried his face in her hair, cuddling her close.   
Friendly, gentle Frell swore steadily in Kalquorian as he checked her injuries. These were not his deliciously naughty sex words, either. Some of the terms he used were beyond her but she did make out several black references to the parentage and sexual potency of her abductors. He moved from her leg to her torso and hissed some more over her many bruises. He reached into his kit and held up an injector.   
“Precious girl, I know you’ve had the bite but I want to back it up with a pain inhibitor. You’ll get very sleepy but you won’t pass out, I promise.”  
She touched his arm. “I trust you, my Imdiko. I’m already behind on this pain. Fire away.”  
“This should hold you until we can get you to the transport and into the medical bay.”  
He pressed the injector to her neck and gave her the painless shot. She sighed and settled farther back in Zan’s embrace. Frell fastened a clean splint on her leg and touched some of her bruises with anesthetic cream.  
“Thank you all for finding me.” She gazed around with tear-starred vision. “I thought maybe you were dead. I was so scared.” Her words ended in a whisper.   
“You were scared?” Frell’s own voice was tight. “When we realized what had happened to you, we were clucking like chickens.”  
She blinked and then dissolved in laughter. “I love you all so much.”  
Zan stroked her hair. “Rest, precious girl.”  
She drifted in a twilight state for the rest of the flight. Zan didn’t let her go but he took her up in his arms and carried her to the cot at the back of the little craft and laid down with her. She scrubbed her face against his naked chest, nuzzling to breathe in his scent and soak in his warmth. His cocks heated and hardened against her thighs.   
She gave them a pat and smiled ruefully. “Wish I had the energy to do something about those. Sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”  
“Just rest and get better.”  
She peered up to see tears in his eyes. “Oh, Zan, it’s all right! You made it all right. My fireman rescued me. You all went through fire to get me.”  
He kissed her tenderly and she drifted again as another wave of exhaustion and intoxicant washed over her. She went diving with Zan, with schools of purple-eyed fish and valerius stems waving in the current. She flew entire bouquets of kites with Frell, sitting on a hill and watching their lazy sky-dance. She hiked in the Sierras with Rejan and a friendly bear. She rolled and floated and saw herself in the arms of three men, being petted and kissed and caressed into bliss.   
She was barely aware of their arrival on the transport ship. Faces and doors passed in streaks of colored light and she knew Zan was rushing her to the med bay. She grinned to see Zan and Rejan were still naked. Her grin turned to a frown. There better not be any females ogling her beautiful men. Or any males, for that matter.   
A voice said, “Relax and breathe deep, Matara Bethany,” and she faded out of the scene.


	13. Chapter Fourteen

ALIEN HEART, Part II  
Inspired by the Kalquor series by Tracy St. John  
Chapter Fourteen

“How much internal damage?” Rejan asked the doctor two hours after they’d reached the med bay and gotten Bethany into an examination room. He and Zan had been given clothes to wear and they’d been waiting, pacing, for much too long.  
“Beside the badly broken leg and the infection, it looks like most of her injuries are contained to her back and shoulders, not too serious. Someone kicked her, though, and one of her kidneys was badly bruised. It will heal, but she’s fragile right now. She may need some regenerative therapy when we reach a station with more extensive med capabilities. She’s exhausted and she’s been starved and was very dehydrated.”  
His sweet girl! “Will she recover?”  
“I’m sure she will. I want you to know that I found no evidence of sexual assault or rape, though she had several bruises on her breasts. As for her emotional recovery, well, that’s out of my purview. I’ve already contacted the ship that will take you to Kalquor and made sure they have a psychologist as well as medical personnel ready for her as soon as she arrives.”  
Zan shifted, restive. “Can we see her?”  
“She’s groggy and sore, and she’s weak, but yes, I think it would do her good to see her clanmates. I understand she’s been missing for a while. Congratulations on finding her.” The doctor shook his head. “I’m a healer but I can’t help but hope you put those animals down.”  
“They hurt our Matara,” Zan said bluntly. “They’re dead.”  
The doctor’s eyes glittered. “Good. Follow the ensign and he’ll take you to her now.”  
They found her looking small and frail in the Kalquorian-sized hospital bed. The mingled joy and pain in her face wrenched Rejan’s heart. She raised her arms and they crowded around her for a gingerly embrace.  
She sighed. “Oh, my loves. I don’t ever want to be apart from you again. Okay?”  
Rejan knelt by the bed and took her hand. “Never, my Matara. You’ll be sick of us, we’ll stick to you so much.”  
She giggled. “Promise?”  
He kissed her palm, wishing he could pour his love straight into her heart. “I swear on my life, Bethany.”  
Frell winked at her. “We also promise to wear you out once we get you home safe and sound, little love. You won’t be leaving our bed for weeks, except for when we take you other places so we can make love to you there.”  
She grinned, eyes bright. “That’s my insatiable Imdiko.”  
Frell nudged Rejan. He glared at his clanmate. Then, he squared his shoulders, turned to Bethany and took her hand. “Bethany Corddray, will you join my clan? Will you agree to be our Matara and stay with us always?”  
She gasped. “Really? You mean it?”  
“Absolutely, and my clanmates agree. However, I’m obliged to tell you that your word is your commitment for life, sweet girl. If you say yes, you really are stuck with us.”  
Her eyes grew clear and steady. “Yes. Oh, yes, I’d love to be stuck with all of you.”  
They dived on her and the whole group hugged as carefully as they could. She finally let go and they pulled back. Still, she beamed on them.  
“I love you, my clan. I’m the luckiest—oh! The other women—”  
“They are fine.” Frell gave her hand a reassuring pat.  
“At last word, only two were left unaccounted for and they were seen hiking around a nearby lake. The men from the Kalquorian Evac and Rescue team have already gone to get them.” Rejan patted her hand. “Your friend Lydia is safe at the lodge with Matara Leela and the others.”  
Frell chuckled. “Word from Leela is that with the arrival of your sister prisoners, Oakhurst reeks of cinnamon. But don’t worry, the team members are trained and they are honorable.”  
She laughed. “I know. Oh, thank God!” She sagged, then, and looked up at Zan. “I need to sleep again, but I—I need my Nobek with me.”  
Zan was stretched out beside her in a heartbeat. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and Rejan was reminded of what Zan had said on their flight to Earth: that he knew his life was complete the day he met Bethany. Lucky, wise Nobek. Rejan had gotten off to the rockiest possible start with her, but in the depths of his being, he had kept the memory of that one moment when he held her for the first time in the garden on Plasius. Her green eyes had promised him everything and he had given his heart to her without reservation. It had just taken a long time for the message to get to his brain.  
Frell came up from behind and wrapped his arms around Rejan's neck. He patted his Imdiko’s arm as they watched Zan curled up with their pretty girl. Their Matara. Bethany was already asleep, one small hand clutching Zan’s sleeve. Zan had cupped his big body around Bethany’s, forming a wall of protection. He was half-asleep himself. Rejan was glad. His clanmate had driven himself mercilessly ever since they discovered Bethany had been taken. He also needed to reassure himself that his female was safe and sound, and to impart his scent to her, re-marking her as his claimed mate. Healthy Nobek instincts.  
“My Dramok?”  
“Yes, my Imdiko?”  
“When I thought I was going to die in that damned explosion, all I could think about was how much I wanted to find Bethany and make her pregnant. Even though we thought she had betrayed us.”  
He smiled at the couple on the bed. “I know. I had the same impulse. To make love and make life with our sweetling.”  
“Am I hopeless or is that thought one of the most erotic ideas I’ve ever had?”  
“Yes, you are hopeless and yes, that is very erotic. Do you know how beautiful she’s going to be when she’s expecting?”  
“Sex with our sweet girl while our babe’s tucked up safe inside her? Can’t wait.”  
They stood for a moment in silence. Rejan savored the simple peace of having them all together. Their Matara was with them, safe, and she was truly theirs for life. His clan was complete at last. All secrets and fears had been put to rout. Contentment sank into his restless body and settled, bone-deep. For the first time in years, Larke’s ghost was gone. This time, he’d been on time to save his beloved. His burden of guilt was banished and in its place, the hope of his future lifted him.  
Frell sighed. “You know they’re going to try to get Zan to leave in a few minutes. It will not be pretty.”  
Rejan snorted. “Poor bastards. Good thing we’re already in a hospital.”  
#  
“So, I’m going to be a little busy myself for a while.” The lovely young woman on the vid was smiling, eyes sparkling. “But I was so excited about your background in plants that I fired up the vid as soon as I could.” Susannah of Clan Denar tucked her chin shyly and looked up at the screen from under her lashes. “Whatever you decide about working with me, I have to tell you that I’ve never had a sister, Bethany,” she said softly. “I’m so looking forward to having one now.”  
Bethany watched the image vanish, blinking back joyful tears. A sister! Oh, she was going to love Kalquor even more than she had dreamed.  
Bethany switched off the vid and hugged herself. Family! She’d gone from a life alone to three husbands, about five brothers-in-law, and at least one sister-in-law! Not to mention seven fathers-in-law and two mothers-in-law and... She puffed out a breath as she calculated. Add in other clanmates and so on and the mind boggled.  
“Don’t be scared.” Frell cuddled her close. “Many people have met our families and gone on to live normal lives.”  
She snorted and kissed his cheek. “Bring ‘em on. After weeks with Bastard Mike and his Butthead Brigade, a bunch of Kalquorians aren’t likely to ruffle my feathers.”  
Zan slid in beside her on the lounger. He slipped a hand under the hem of her dress. “I’ll be there to protect you.”  
She sighed as his fingers glided under her panties to caress her tender folds. She was almost completely healed from all her injuries, but her lovers continued to treat her gently. She would be glad when she was at full strength and the real play could begin.  
Frell began undoing the buttons on her blouse. “Is this how you protect your Matara?” she asked dreamily.  
“No, this is how we love her.” Rejan leaned over the back of the lounger to kiss her.  
They had her surrounded. She was lovingly undressed and carried to their sleeping room. Warm, dark skin slid over hers as they undressed and pressed in around her. Mouths, hands, cocks, tongues were eagerly applied to every spot they could access on her body. She was filled and ravished and teased and brought to climax after shattering climax. Their roars of satisfaction thrilled her to her depths.  
Afterward, as they lay in a sweaty, joyous heap on the sleeping mat, she touched each of their faces. “My dear ones, can I tell you a secret?”  
“Of course.” Frell kissed her hand.  
“No secrets in the clan.” Rejan mocked his own official Dramok voice.  
“You won’t be mad?”  
That got their attention. “Matara,” they growled, almost in unison.  
“I’m pregnant.”  
Sighs all around. “Oh, that,” Frell said with a dismissive gesture.  
“Old news.” Rejan settled in to sleep.  
“That’s nice.” Zan yawned.  
She gaped. “What?”  
Frell grabbed her and tickled her. “Did you think we didn’t know?”  
“How could you? I didn’t even know until yesterday. I just tested on a whim because I was a day late. And it’s been less than a week!”  
“Four nights ago, to be exact.” Zan moved in to kiss her tenderly.  
“You comedians are pulling my leg again. You didn’t know until just now.”  
“Then how,” said Rejan, reaching into the drawer next to the bed, “did we know to get you this?”  
He handed her a gift-wrapped box. She studied him with narrowed eyes, then yanked off the ribbon and tore into the wrapping. When she opened the box, she gasped.  
Inside were a box of saltine crackers, a packet of prenatal vitamins, and an exquisite silver locket on a filigree chain. On the front of it was engraved a delicate peony. Inside, a tiny slip of paper was tucked into the frame. She took it out, unfolded it, and read:  
“Darling Bethany,  
We are the luckiest, happiest men in all the universe. Thank you for loving us and  
for having our child. You are the love of our lives.”  
It was signed by all three of them and dated three days earlier. She frowned.  
“You still could have set this up. You didn’t know.”  
“So suspicious. We bought them in the commissary the other day. I can produce the receipt.” Rejan flashed a smug smile. “It’ll confirm the date of purchase.”  
Frell turned over the locket in her hand. “In fact, the date of conception is engraved on the back.”  
She stared at it, blinking. She thought she must look like a goldfish―she just kept opening and closing her mouth without saying anything. Finally, she looked up at them, lips pursed. “What? You didn’t have the time of conception engraved on it?”  
“We were a little preoccupied at that moment, brat,” Rejan drawled. “But if you want to blame someone, there’s your culprit.” He nodded at Zan.  
Zan gave her one of his best little smiles. “I did it.”  
“You’re saying you know that it was you that got me pregnant?”  
He nodded. “I was so happy, pretty girl. I was holding you afterward and I was kissing you and then, well, then I knew.”  
“How?” she demanded. “How did you know?”  
He shrugged and smiled again. “I just did.”  
“No one really knows how it happens.” Frell stroked her arm. “If we males aren’t paying attention, it can get past us. Then it’s a surprise, but that’s fun, too.”  
“Are you happy?” Rejan touched her hair. “Do you want a babe, Bethany?”  
Her heart leaped. “Do I want a child? Your child? Oh, my loves, I’m over the moons!”  
They dove on her and they spent a long, satisfying time hugging and kissing and so on. Zan put a hand on her belly. “One little one. Tucked up safe and warm inside our pretty girl.”  
She felt tears welling as she looked at him. “I might have known you’d be the first,” she said, her voice hitching.  
He pulled her in for a long, loving hug. “You make our dreams come true, sweet Bethany.”  
“First?” Frell asked. “Does that mean you want to have more babes, Matara?” His tone was full of hope.  
“I do. I don’t really care who fertilizes the egg,” she said, holding Zan’s hand and reaching for Frell’s. “I just want to have your babies, my clan. Our babies.”  
“Come here, sweet.” Rejan pulled her close to him. “You’ve made us so happy. We’re honored by your love and your willingness to share your life with us. We vow we will be the very best fathers we can to our children. You will never have to doubt our love.” He grinned as he cupped her chin. “I can’t promise I won’t be an asshat from time to time, but then, you knew that when you accepted me as your mate and your Dramok.”  
“We’ll love you and protect you,” Zan said.  
Frell kissed her leg. “We’ll be dominating rat bastards in the bedroom, but we will care for you in every way.”  
“And I will do my best to share with you, keep your asses out of trouble, and be your mean Matara forever.” She beamed around at her men.  
More kissing ensued. Rejan extricated himself and sat up. “Now, Matara. For the ground rules.”  
She groaned. “Rejan!”  
“This is important. A pregnant Matara is precious. She must be willing―”  
“To give you laxan?” Bethany purred, pressing her breasts against his chest.  
“She must be willing...oh, hell, Bethany, you make me crazy!”  
Rejan pulled her down and smothered her with kisses. The others joined in. They were soon fully engaged, her whole clan loving her to the skies.  
Later, when she could form coherent thoughts, she acknowledged that she would be getting lots of rules and some pretty heavy-handed spoiling at the hands of her three loves. She’d just have to grit her teeth and bear it.  
Because she knew, without question, that these three aliens owned her heart.  
#  
Epilogue  
I’m being zoomed. I love zooming.  
First, my Dramok father Rejan zooms me, taking me up in the air so I can look down and see his face smiling at me. I kick my feet and he hands me to my Imdiko father Frell, who kisses a zerbert on my tummy and then zooms me high, laughing his nice laugh. He hands me to my Nobek father Zan and he zooms me highest of all. He flies me down the pink sand beach and I laugh until I hiccup. He puts me on his warm shoulder and pats my back. I burp and he kisses me and then holds me in his arms as we go back to the others.  
I’m getting scared, though. The empty feeling is back and I don’t like it. I smack my lips and wriggle in my Nobek father’s arms. It’s taking too long. Where’s Mommy? I need her!  
Ah. Finally. I’m settled onto my Matara Mommy and she cuddles me up and there it is, the breast, and I latch on and I sigh as I suck her good milk. That was a close one. I almost had to start yelling.  
I look up and her soft green eyes are watching me and she’s smiling down at me and everything is better. My fathers draw in around us and they stroke Mommy’s arms and back and they put their big hands on my head, all nice and warm and we’re all together. And then, just when I get scared because the milk isn’t coming strong anymore, she turns me and there’s the other breast and I can relax again. I wiggle my toes and kick a little bit but I’m getting sleepy. It’s good to be warm and full on Mommy.  
After I suck the last, sweetest drops of Mommy’s milk, she kisses and cuddles me for a while. My Imdiko father lifts me up and takes me to change my diaper. He always sings to me while he changes me. I like it when my diaper’s off. I have two nice penises, just like each of my fathers have. Mine waggle when I kick and get hard sometimes and that feels good but they feel good when they’re soft, too. My father gets me all clean and puts a dry diaper on me. He kisses me with a big smack that makes me smile at him. Then I’m ready to sleep.  
I get settled on my Dramok father’s bare chest, which has gotten warm while he’s been lying on the sunny beach. He puts a hand on my bottom and pats me as I snuggle into him and find my thumb to suck. He kisses the top of my head. His big heart thumps under me and I go up and down when he breathes. I hear Mommy and my Nobek father talking softly. My Imdiko father sings a lullaby.  
The waves go in and out. The breeze blows across us all. Everything is all right.

THE END


End file.
